Washington state climate activists are a little skeptical of Jay Inslee's environmental record

If you don't live in Washington state, you've probably heard of the state's Gov. Jay Inslee, a 2020 Democratic presidential contender, for one reason: his focus on climate change. But not all activists in Inslee's home state think their governor's record on climate change is flawless, Pacific Standard reports.

While he's mostly polling below one percent, he's notable in a flooded field of candidates because he's the only one to place climate change at the front and center of his campaign. Last month, he released the "Evergreen Economy Plan," an economic proposal favorably compared to the Green New Deal by progressives. Inslee's plan focuses on the transition to clean energy, building out public transport, and drafting a "G.I. Bill" for fossil fuel workers.

Yet while solar farms have popped up around the state, and Inslee ushers in a new era of electric ferries, carbon dioxide emissions actually rose during his tenure between 2012 and 2016, data from the United States Energy Information Administration shows. Pacific Standard writes that a lot of those earlier climate failures were because of Washington's split state legislature — once he had a Democratic majority he was able to pass more of climate change-oriented legislation.

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Still, he drew criticism from state activists for supporting two proposed fossil fuel plants in Washington, one of which was a natural gas plant that would have been built on ancestral tribal land. He ultimately changed his mind.

Jamie Margolin, the founder of Zero Hour, a youth-led climate activist organization, told Pacific Standard that "there's a lot of cheap talk in the state about climate action" and that she was disappointed Inslee did not "walk the walk" when it came to the plant proposals. Even so, Margolin and her fellow activists agree Inslee is stronger on climate change than other Democratic candidates and that he has shown the ability to learn and adapt to the movement's changes. Read more at Pacific Standard.