WA to agree to link carbon markets with CA, Quebec
After years of careful planning, public outreach and coordination, Washington, California and the Canadian province of Quebec have agreed on how best to merge their carbon markets.
The three governments intend to cement their plan Thursday, Washington state officials said in a news release. Their agreement marks the most tangible progress to date in what is meant to be the ultimate realization of the Climate Commitment Act, a landmark Washington law that aims to cut planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions from the biggest polluters in the state.
This linkage, as it's called, is also expected to further stabilize the carbon market. Ideally this should translate to lower prices at the pump for consumers, state officials have said, which would be good news for the market otherwise sent reeling by the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran.
Passed in 2021, the Climate Commitment Act launched Washington's carbon market in 2023, requiring most of the state's biggest emitters of greenhouse gases to buy allowances for their emissions at quarterly auctions. Over the coming decades, the state will reduce the number of allowances sold, forcing polluters to either cut their emissions or shell out more money for the privilege. Through late last year, the program had raised more than $4.3 billion.
Money from the auctions is set aside for projects to further reduce the state's emissions and to help recover from or guard against climate disasters.
Emissions from these polluters are meant to decrease over the course of decades to provide time for companies to shift away from fossil fuels and to lessen the financial sting of the transition.
Since its inception, Washington's carbon market was designed to merge with the one jointly operated by California and Quebec. A broader market with more allowances and more companies should tamp down any price spikes like those seen in the early days of Washington's market.
But also, the three governments joining forces should build momentum for other efforts across the continent hoping to cut emissions.
As President Donald Trump's second term deepens, his administration has doubled down on fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal, sometimes taking extreme steps to prop up the industries. Through this major policy shift, the responsibility for combating climate change has shifted onto the shoulders of individual states.
The need for the United States and the rest of the world to cut greenhouse gas emissions is becoming more apparent. Washington is settling into an unprecedented fourth statewide drought emergency in a row, the American Southwest is entering even more dire straits, and a potentially severe wildfire season looms in the weeks and months ahead.
By itself Washington state is too small of a player to make much of a dent in global greenhouse gas emissions, but combined with California and Quebec, its efforts become more effective, especially if other states or provinces agree to join in. Currently, 10 other American states have trade programs meant to cut emissions, including New York and Oregon, both of which are contemplating their own statewide carbon markets.
Before any other states join, however, Washington's linkage agreement must be finalized. After state and province officials sign the pact Thursday, all three governments still have a smattering of regulatory changes to make to their own markets before they can officially merge, according to a release from Washington's Department of Ecology.
Those changes are expected to be finalized in Washington by September, the release said. And if all continues on schedule, the three governments could be operating a joint carbon market by next year.
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