Together in Climate Action Summit: Regional Carbon Pricing vs. Federal Inaction

Climate Conversations: A Climate Change Podcast

This special episode is part of MIT’s Together in Climate Action Summit, which is focused on sharing climate leadership strategies and exploring pathways forward in Northeastern North America.

In this episode, we interview Deb Markowitz, a former six-term Vermont Secretary of State, and Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources. Currently, Markowitz is currently a visiting professor in Environmental Policy and Leadership at the University of Vermont.

We discuss how state power and regional action can be leveraged to combat climate change in light of the United States plan to withdraw from the Paris Agreement. Deb highlights how carbon pricing, market-driven policies, leadership, and ideology can produce meaningful change and measurable economic and environmental benefits. We also discuss the success of RGGI cap-and-trade system, and how inter-state cooperation on carbon emissions and environmental policy can lead when federal policies lag.