美國的各個州就成功政策相互借鑒和學習為國家立法奠定了基礎。近幾年，大麻合法化以及醫保改革的進程都是如此。

碳定價似乎也將走上類似的道路，成為減少大氣污染并擴大清潔能源應用的動力，只是目前還處于較初級階段。碳定價會成為政策領域的下一個大麻嗎？

雖然聯合國報告警告稱人類只剩下12年時間來避免氣候災難，但美國聯邦政府仍鐵了心要減輕環保力度，并最終退出了《巴黎協定》。但不作為或者打太極絕不是辦法。

各州必須采取行動，即便會遇到化石燃料行業的反對，而碳定價將成為它們在聯邦政府以下應對氣候變化的主要手段之一。

為此，州議員應該研究一下各州的大麻合法化過程。美國的大麻合法化始于2012年，科羅拉多州和華盛頓州率先立法允許將大麻用于消遣。接著，另外八個州和華盛頓特區隨之而動，最新的一個是上周二通過公投實現大麻合法化的密歇根州。同時，已有33個州和華盛頓特區將某種形式的大麻（藥用或消遣）列為合法物品。2000年以來，公眾對大麻合法化的支持度提高了一倍多，目前已有62%的美國人贊成此事。

現在，我們應該把這種“逐州擊破”的策略用于阻止氣候變化。許多人都在關注華盛頓州今年的中期選舉，因為該州正在探討美國最宏大的氣候治理方案。《1631號提案》旨在開征美國首個全國性碳污染費，但以失敗告終。為了反對這一提案，英國石油和Phillips 66公司花了3100萬美元在華盛頓民眾中制造困惑和恐懼。不過，該提案獲得的贊成票仍達到了43%以上。

今年的失敗不應阻礙整個碳定價進程。我是來自俄勒岡州的參議員，俄勒岡州是碳成本聯盟（Carbon Costs Coalition）的發起成員。這個組織由全美國各地的州議員組成，他們決心為碳排放定價。目前已有13個州提出了碳定價議案，正在等待州議會審批。在俄勒岡州，我們今年早些時候幾乎就要通過碳排放限制和投資計劃了，而且最近實現連任的州長凱特·布朗和州議會首腦都承諾將在明年通過此項提案。

中期選舉后的格局讓俄勒岡在2019年的碳定價進程中處于領先位置。俄勒岡已將大麻合法化，而且也將確立碳排放的價格。可以預見，如果我們成功了，中期選舉后越發注重環保的華盛頓州議會也將采取同樣措施。

另外，有些州已經為碳排放設限并建立了碳交易機制。去年，加州在民主、共和兩黨的共同支持下將此項政策又延長了12年。今年，新澤西州宣布將重新加入另外九個州組成的區域溫室氣體倡議（Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative）。這些州的碳排放量都在下降，而且此項倡議為當地的數千個清潔能源工作崗位提供了支持。

加拿大已經出臺全國性碳排放稅，作為鄰居，美國也應如此。和美國一樣，加拿大在這方面的工作也始于地方層面——不列顛哥倫比亞省和魁北克省牽頭進行碳定價，直到聯邦政府最終實施此項政策。

觀察一下大麻合法化的推進、平價醫療法案的成功以及其他草根州的努力，強大石油企業的資金和信息誤導活動對公眾意愿的阻撓看來也就到此為止了。（財富中文網）

邁克爾·德姆布魯是來自俄勒岡州的參議員。他也是碳成本聯盟成員，后者是美國環保議員全國會議的一部分。

譯者：Charlie

審校：夏林

When states watch and learn from each others’ policy victories, it sets the stage for national legislative action. This has played out over the past years with marijuana legalization and health care reform.

A similar process seems to be occurring with carbon pricing, which reduces climate pollution and provides incentives to expand clean energy—though it’s in an earlier stage. Could carbon pricing be the next marijuana of the policy world?

Despite a UN report warning the world that there are only 12 years left to take action to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the federal government remains intent on rolling back environmental protections and eventually withdrawing from the Paris agreement. But giving in to inaction or delay is simply not an option.

States are going to have to step up to the plate, even in the face of opposition from the fossil fuel industry, and carbon pricing will be one of their primary methods of fighting climate change at the sub-federal level.

To do so, state legislators should study the progression of the state-level marijuana legalization movement, which began in 2012 with Colorado and Washington state legalizing recreational use. Since then, eight more states and Washington, D.C., have followed suit, the latest being Michigan in last Tuesday’s election. In addition, 33 states plus Washington, D.C., have legalized a form of marijuana (either medical or recreational). Public support for legalizing marijuana has more than doubled since 2000, with 62% of Americans now in favor of it.

Now it’s time to apply this state-by-state strategy to preventing climate change. Many eyes were on Washington state this election season, where one of the country’s most ambitious climate efforts was on the ballot. Initiative 1631 would have enacted the first statewide carbon pollution fee in the U.S., but was defeated. Big oil companies like BP and Phillips 66 spent $31 million in Washington to sow confusion and fear over the initiative—and yet, it still earned over 43% of the vote.

But this year’s loss isn’t stopping overall progress on carbon pricing. I am a state senator from Oregon, and one of the original members of the Carbon Costs Coalition, a group of state legislators from across the country dedicated to putting a price on carbon. Thirteen states currently have carbon pricing bills pending in their state legislatures. In Oregon, we came close to passing a cap and invest program earlier this year, and newly re-elected Governor Kate Brown and legislative leadership have expressed a commitment to pass the legislation next year.

This post-election landscape positions Oregon to lead on carbon pricing in 2019. Oregon has already legalized marijuana, and we will put a price on carbon. Once we do so, we can expect Washington’s legislature, which has become increasingly pro-environment since the election, to follow.

Additionally, some states already have cap and trade systems in place. Last year, California renewed its program with bipartisan support for another 12 years, and this year, New Jersey announced that it will rejoin nine other states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. All of these states have falling emissions, and the initiative supports thousands of clean energy jobs in the region.

With Canada having announced a national carbon tax, the U.S. has a neighbor it can follow. As in America, Canada’s efforts began at the local level, with British Columbia and Quebec leading the way on carbon pricing until these policy was eventually adopted by the federal government.

Looking at the movement toward the legalization of marijuana, the success of the Affordable Care Act, and other grassroots state efforts, it seems that the powerful oil industry’s funding and misinformation campaigns can only hold back the public will for so long.

Michael Dembrow is a state senator in the Oregon legislature. He is a member of the Carbon Costs Coalition, which is part of the National Caucus of Environmental Legislators.