Prof. Aseem Prakash and colleague Prof. Nives Dolšak add his thoughts on Washington State's new carbon-trading plan in The Seattle Times.
"As a market-based system, the cap-and-invest program will give businesses the choice to reduce emissions through a strategy of their choice, or to buy allowances that allow them to continue emitting...."
"Dolšak said that without quantifiable, measurable indicators it will be impossible to gauge impact, much less hold the government accountable for its investments in measures to mitigate climate change.
Other experts say entities will have to choose between passing the costs of the program onto customers, or absorbing costs themselves.
Still, state officials and energy providers believe a price hike for customers can be avoided.
'That’s, at least for me, a bit difficult to believe,' said Aseem Prakash, a political science professor at the University of Washington. With climbing inflation and reactionary energy prices, a jump in energy prices might be a secondary concern. 'In the current inflationary environment, will consumers even notice it?'