For higher gas prices, first do no harm

With Minnesotans experiencing the highest gasoline prices in history, some legislators and the Walz administration put forward a policy during the 2022 session to artificially raise them even more by adopting California’s clean fuel standard. Center of the American Experiment’s recent report, Gas Station Inflation: How the Walz Administration’s “Clean Fuel Standard” Would Increase Pain at the Pump chronicles the high costs and immeasurably small benefits of the Clean Fuel Standard, which originated in California.

The California Fuel Standard (CFS) creates a government mandate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the fuel sector every year. These mandated emissions reductions would come at a high cost. Research from Stillwater Associates determined the CFS would cause the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel to increase by 20 cents per gallon in the near term and up to 54 cents per gallon by 2035. One legislative proposal from the 2022 session would have raised the cost of gas by up to $2 per gallon in Minnesota if enacted into law.

“The next time someone asks what the governor can do about high gas prices, tell them about these misguided and expensive fuel standards,” said Isaac Orr, Policy Fellow for Energy and the Environment at Center of the American Experiment. “Policymakers like Tim Walz love to talk about electric cars while families living paycheck-to-paycheck struggle with $5 gas.”

American Experiment is running radio ads across the state in English, Spanish and Somali opposing the California fuel standard. The script of the ad urges listeners to visit www.NoGasStationInflation.com.

Think about it

Gas prices are over four dollars per gallon and Governor Tim Walz wants to raise them even more by adopting California’s crazy fuel standards!

Say No to Gas Station Inflation!

Think about it: The latest California fuel proposal will raise the cost of gas in Minnesota by two dollars per gallon! Working families pay more at the pump, while rich guys drive around in electric cars.

Visit No Gas Station Inflation dot com for more information    

“Think About It” is brought to you by Center of the American Experiment, Minnesota’s think tank.

“When we cut the radio ads just a few weeks ago, we didn’t think they would be obsolete so quickly with gas now approaching $5 per gallon in Minnesota,” added Orr. “We’re targeting the radio ads in Greater Minnesota and in different languages because rural Minnesotans and Hispanic and Somali-speaking families are often disproportionally affected by inflationary policies like clean fuel standards.”

It is also important to note that none of the additional costs imposed on Minnesota families will pay for upgrading our roads and bridges. Despite the high costs, the CFS will deliver zero measurable environmental benefits. The CFS seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from Minnesota’s transportation sector by 20 percent by 2035. However, this reduction would only decrease future global temperatures by 0.0002° C by 2100, an amount so small it is impossible to measure with even the most sophisticated scientific equipment.