California, Quebec, and Washington state have agreed to merge their markets for carbon pollution.<\/p>\n
Each government has been making some of its biggest polluters pay to keep harming the climate. Polluters can also buy and sell their permits to emit heat-trapping carbon dioxide.<\/p>\n
With an agreement signed Thursday, polluters should be able to buy and sell carbon allowances from anywhere in the three jurisdictions by 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile Washington, D.C., is really abandoning our country’s commitment to move forward on climate and addressing such an urgent and existential issue, I’m thankful to be governor of a state that does exactly the opposite,\u201d Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said at a press conference.<\/p>\n
RELATED: Microsoft signals pause in funding for carbon dioxide removal market<\/a><\/p>\n Billions in revenue from governmental carbon auctions has been funding clean-energy projects and supporting low-income communities.<\/p>\n Washington\u2019s \u201ccap-and-invest\u201d program is the centerpiece of the state\u2019s efforts to control the pollutants that are causing record-breaking heat waves around the world and generally sending the earth\u2019s climate into dangerous, uncharted territory.<\/p>\n \u201cSnowpack is no longer a reliable water supply,\u201d Ferguson said. \u201cWe cannot wait for the other Washington to catch up or get with the program.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOur linked market, once operational in 2027, will be the world’s largest subnational carbon market,\u201d said David Ruiz with the Qu\u00e9bec Government Office in Seattle.<\/p>\n