With passage of a federal budget that cuts subsidies for renewables like wind and solar and an executive order promising to “end taxpayer support for unaffordable and unreliable ‘green’ energy sources,” climate activists are considering new approaches to reduce the impact of greenhouse gases. One such champion stepping forward is former Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee.

Inslee made fighting climate change the rhetorical centerpiece of his time as governor and his short-lived presidential campaign. Inslee claims he made Washington state “a leader” in the fight against climate change, and Time magazine gave him a 2025 Earth Award, saying the former governor “believes in the power of local action.”

Having worked on environmental policy for 25 years in Washington state, I can attest that following Inslee’s lead would be a catastrophic mistake.

In a recent editorial, he argued that Democrats should use climate change to “win over young Trump voters.” His central, and repeated, error — the one he now encourages national climate activists to follow — is to treat climate change........

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