The pact being developed by Massachusetts and other East Coast states to cap carbon emissions from vehicles could add up to 17 cents to the price of a gallon of gas and generate revenue for state governments. Leaders from a coalition of eastern states, including Massachusetts, have been working for over a year to develop a regional “cap-and-invest” program to reduce carbon pollution from cars and trucks and generate the resources needed to expand clean transit options and improve public health.
The effort, known as the Transportation Climate Initiative, has also become a central part of Gov. Charlie Baker’s transportation and climate agenda, with the administration proposing to earmark half of all proceeds generated toward improving public transit.
But the coalition already began to splinter Tuesday in light of the newly forecast economic impacts, with New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu announcing that his state would not participate.
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