Washington, D.C., emits less carbon per person than any state in the country, yet energy costs in the District have climbed more than 93% over the past five years, the steepest increase in the nation, according to a new report from the Progressive Policy Institute (PPI). The report finds that D.C.’s aggressive local climate mandates are driving up bills for the residents least able to afford them while delivering no measurable effect on global climate change.
Authored by Neel Brown, Managing Director at PPI, and John Kemp, an internationally recognized energy markets expert, “Washington DC: Lowest in Carbon Emissions, Highest in Increased Costs” examines the District’s energy profile, emissions record, and climate policies. It concludes that by trying to squeeze the last tons of carbon out of an already low-emitting system, D.C. has chosen the most expensive possible path to its net-zero goals.
D.C. emits less than 4 metric tons of carbon dioxide per resident, one-quarter of the national average of 14 tons. With more than 11,000 people per square mile, over 120 times the national average, the District combines exceptional density with small homes, heavy transit use and a near absence of manufacturing, making it the lowest-emitting jurisdiction in the country. Commuters use public transportation at seven times the national rate, and since 2005 the District’s total emissions have fallen 2.6% per year, more than twice the national pace.
Costs, however, are moving in the opposite direction. Inflation and surging wholesale prices across the PJM Interconnection, the regional grid strained by data center growth in northern Virginia, have pushed up bills throughout the Mid-Atlantic. But Maryland and New Jersey, also in PJM, saw increases of about 50% over the same period. The report attributes D.C.’s steeper climb in large part to local green energy mandates and estimates the District’s implied cost of carbon, or the price of abating one metric ton of CO2, at $750 to $870, roughly double that of the next-most-expensive states, Massachusetts and New Jersey, at $300 to $400 per ton.
“Washington is already the lowest carbon-emitting jurisdiction in the country on a per-person basis, and it is paying more than anyone else to squeeze out the last few tons,” said Brown. “Those costs fall hardest on renters and low-income families who can’t put solar panels on their roofs. Before going further, policymakers should ask whether each additional dollar is buying any real climate benefit.”
The report finds:
The report recommends that D.C. replace rigid, technology-specific mandates, including the solar carve-out and net-zero building standard, with market-based standards; lean into the District’s natural advantages by investing in energy efficiency and public transportation; and revisit the rationale for its net-zero goals, weighing the burden on low-income ratepayers against what the policies actually deliver for the global climate. Instead of working backward from an arbitrary net-zero date, the report argues, policymakers should subject each new climate policy to a rigorous cost-benefit test.
Read and download the report here.
Founded in 1989, PPI is a catalyst for policy innovation and political reform based in Washington, D.C. Its mission is to create radically pragmatic ideas for moving America beyond ideological and partisan deadlock. Find an expert and learn more about PPI by visiting progressivepolicy.org. Follow us at @ppi.
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Media Contact: Ian O’Keefe – iokeefe@ppionline.org
