Implementation Guide: Cap and Invest for Equitable Decarbonization

States are setting climate goals that will require whole sectors of industry to drastically decarbonize. This presents market transformation barriers, two of which are: 1) some of the necessary technology to make this shift still does not exist, and 2) it is likely there will be many different solutions. Cap and invest policies can be a great tool to regulate carbon emissions without forcing specific solutions. Starting with the first-ever cap and trade program in 1990, emission pricing mechanisms – from carbon taxes to cap and trade – have served as an effective way to regulate industry emissions and encourage innovation to identify solutions. Now, as states implement ambitious decarbonization plans, they can use cap and invest policy as a tool to regulate these emissions. 

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