Regional Carbon Pricing Initiative

January 31, 2018

Connecticut legislators are now part of the new Carbon Costs Coalition, comprised of state legislators from nine states that have agreed to work collaboratively to pass similar carbon pricing legislation to create the geographic and population critical mass to make such a program successful.

  • Carbon pollution has been associated with increases in respiratory complications and hospitalizations – Hartford, for instance, has one of the highest rates of asthma in the nation.
  • Carbon pricing is a market-based strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that is supported by economists and leaders from across the political spectrum.
  • Carbon Costs Coalition members include lawmakers from Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
  • The National Caucus of Environmental Legislators (NCEL) have been working on this issue for 2+ years
  • Coalition members recognize that each state proposal is tailored to local needs, and therefore the group is connected by shared principles rather than legislative uniformity. The principles are: Reducing carbon emissions, Ensuring equity in policy proposals, Developing market-based solutions, Creating a resilient local economy, Improving public health outcomes