A tipping point for carbon pricing?

Last week, Governor Kitzhaber joined leaders from California, Washington and British Columbia to show support for putting a price on carbon. It was a strong statement, backed up by the launch of California’s first cap-and-trade auction, and confirms that this region will continue leading the way in creating a more resilient, low carbon economy. Read more about the Pacific Coast Collaborative meeting, and the reaction of our Executive Director Andrea Durbin, at Sustainable Business Oregon.

The announcement comes as a confluence of diverse voices call on the U.S. to get serious about climate change in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, including:

• Business Week’s cover story, “It’s Global Warming, Stupid”
• President Obama proclaiming in his acceptance speech that “We want our children to live in an America that isn’t burdened by debt, that isn’t weakened by inequality, that isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet”
• The Washington Post’s editorial that a tax on carbon is the most effective way to reduce carbon emissions and raise federal revenue

Oregon Environmental Council believes that putting a true price on carbon is key to combatting climate change. You can read more about carbon pricing and ideas big and small that will help us all be smarter consumers in our latest One* newsletter.