31 Could A West Coast Carbon Market Build Us An Even Better Economy? With Reuven Carlyle Pacific Time: The "What If...?" Of West Coast Independence podcast

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Pacific Time: The "What if...?" of West Coast Independence »
31 Could a West Coast Carbon Market Build Us an Even Better Economy? With Reuven Carlyle

4d ago 47:04

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How about some good news from the West Coast, where we're building momentum to address climate change on our own?

That’s the question Greg poses to Reuven Carlyle, former Washington State Senator and architect of the state’s cap-and-invest law and an advisor to legislators doing the same in California. Carlyle explains why pricing pollution isn’t just about reducing carbon—it’s about building a stronger, cleaner economy for the West Coast.

Together, we explore what happens when states take control of their future, from harmonizing carbon markets to reinvesting billions of dollars into clean energy, transportation, and communities. Carlyle also lifts the curtain on the messy, hopeful work of governing: building coalitions with tribes, labor, environmentalists, and even business leaders.

In this episode, we cover:

Why the West Coast can’t wait for federal climate leadership
How cap-and-invest turns pollution into prosperity
What harmonized carbon markets could mean for California and Washington (maybe Oregon too?)
Lessons from coalition-building across unlikely allies
Why governing—done well—is still possible

About Our Guest
Reuven Carlyle served 14 years in the Washington Legislature and was the lead architect of the Climate Commitment Act, one of the nation’s most ambitious cap-and-invest programs. He’s a longtime advocate for carbon pricing, climate leadership, and economic innovation on the West Coast. He is a founder and Executive Vice President of Earth Finance.

Resources

WA Climate Commitment Act Overview – Washington’s cap-and-invest law explained
California Cap-and-Trade Program – background on the California model
United Nations Climate Change: The Paris Agreement
Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition – global network advancing carbon pricing policies
Earth Finance - Reuven’s company

Related Episodes

Join the conversation: After coffee, here's a question: If a carbon market can help us fund our own work to address climate change, what other ways can you think to raise money to address a specific West Coast challenge or opportunity?

Share your take wherever you follow or send me your thoughts, questions, comments and constructive suggestions to [email protected].

Follow: Pacific Time is making good trouble asking questions about the future of the West Coast on Substack, YouTube, BlueSky, Instagram, and Facebook. Join the conversation and share it with your neighbors and friends on the West Coast.

Listen: Pacific Time Podcast is on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcast, Podbean, and many other platforms. Follow, share, and leave a review.

Thank you to:

Guest: Reuven Carlyle
Intro: Sandeep Kaushik
Producers: Tim Wohlberg, Valerie McTavish

32 episodes