Merging the nation’s only two statewide carbon markets could harm people who live in disadvantaged communities, interest groups say in public comments on a proposed merger.
Washington state wants to link its cap-and-invest carbon market with the joint market for California and the Quebec province in eastern Canada. The proposed marriage of the three systems would create one of the biggest carbon pricing systems in the world, which could encourage other states to join or start their own carbon markets.
But linking the markets “would probably lead to the continuation of an inequitable exposure to pollutants” for people living near polluting facilities and would primarily benefit polluters, said Front and Centered of Seattle, which advocates for low-income, minority and immigrant communities.
“Studies have shown that linkage would lead to potentially worse outcomes for overburdened communities,” Front and Centered said in public comments on the merger. A top concern, the group said, is that a merger would worsen air quality in the communities.
