Washington has ranked as the 10th most green state in a recent study that defines which states are the best and worst for climate change by Wise Voter, a bipartisan education website.
The study evaluated each state by looking at five main environmental factors: green policies, carbon emissions, green tech adoption, recycling and landfill usage.
Washington ranked as the 10th greenest state overall, but ranked low in certain factors:
• Washington ranked in 44th place in the carbon emissions category and was named as the second-worst state in reducing individual carbon emissions.
• Washington ranked as the fourth best state for green technology adoption, and sixth in landfill usage.
• Washington ranked 14th in recycling and 11th in green policies.
The study evaluated each state’s performance in the six measures by using 60 total metrics of measurements, such as change in residential, transportation and individual emissions, recycling of materials such as metal, aluminum and batteries and total energy consumption.
Washington state has continued to be a climate-conscious state, significantly through Governor Jay Inslee’s priorities for the environment in comparison to other states’ other priorities.
Governor Inslee’s clean energy plan has been striving for 100% clean electricity, vehicles and buildings and has been evident through new legislation such as the Climate Commitment Act Governor Inslee signed in May which will go into effect in 2023.
