Clean Fuel Standard

By requiring fuel suppliers to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels, the Clean Fuel Standard is cutting statewide greenhouse gas emissions by over 2 million metric tons a year. This will help stimulate economic development in low-carbon fuel production.

California, Oregon, British Columbia, Canada, and New Mexico have adopted their own clean fuel standards. In Washington, the Clean Fuel Standard works beside the Climate Commitment Act to target the largest source of emissions in Washington.

The Clean Fuel Standard law requires fuel suppliers to gradually reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuels to 45% below 2017 levels by 2038. There are several ways for fuel suppliers to achieve these reductions, including:

• Improving the efficiency of their fuel production processes.
• Producing and/or blending low-carbon biofuels into the fuel they sell.
• Purchasing credits generated by low-carbon fuel providers, including electric vehicle charging providers.

The Clean Fuel Standard is a market-based policy designed to provide incentives for low carbon fuels. Program implementation is paid for by an annual participation fee.

How it works

Under the Clean Fuel Standard, fuels are assessed to determine their carbon intensity. Cleaner fuels — those with a carbon intensity below the standard — generate credits that can be kept or sold to producers of high-carbon fuels. Fuels with a carbon intensity above the standard generate deficits. Those producers must then buy enough credits to meet the carbon-intensity reduction for that year. The requirement to reduce carbon intensity increases over time, making more low-carbon transportation fuel available in Washington.

Reducing carbon intensity means fewer greenhouse gas emissions entering the atmosphere over time which helps to address impacts of climate change.

In 2025, the Washington Legislature passed HB 1409 to update the Clean Fuel Standard’s targets. Now, the CFS will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation fuels by 45% by 2038, with the option to reduce as much as 55% by 2038 if certain conditions are met.

The reductions for 2026 and 2027 are set by statute, and will take effect beginning Jan. 1, 2026. Ecology will determine specific targets for 2028 and after through a public rulemaking.

New Carbon Intensity Standards

* Ecology has the option to require as much as 55% reduction in carbon intensity if certain conditions are met.

Frequently asked questions

Agriculture and Forestry Carbon Capture & Sequestration Advisory Panel

The advisory panel is a working group that offers ideas about how to provide incentives and allocate credits to sequester greenhouse gases related to the Clean Fuel Standard through activities on agricultural and forest lands in Washington. The advisory panel is made up of representatives from business and industries related to forestry and agriculture, environmental and environmental justice groups, local government, and the public. 

Find out more about the advisory panel.