The Washington Department of Ecology has released a jointly developed draft agreement establishing a proposed framework for connecting Washington’s market for carbon emissions trading with those in California and Québec. The draft agreement sets expectations for information sharing, cooperation, and accounting across the three jurisdictions.
The agreement, which is non-binding, launches a process in each jurisdiction to collect feedback on the proposal ahead of developing necessary regulations to formalize a possible future agreement to link the three markets. In a linked market, emissions allowances issued by California and Québec could be used by Washington businesses to cover their emissions, and vice versa. The three jurisdictions would host joint allowance auctions and share a common allowance price. Market participants could also trade allowances across jurisdictions.Washington is accepting comments and holding public information sessions on the draft agreement through May 1. More information on Washington’s carbon market linkage initiative is available here.
