Washington, D.C., has the lowest carbon emissions per capita of any state in the U.S. at less than 4 metric tons per person (See Fig.1). That is the good news. The bad? Its rate of increase in the cost of energy is also the highest in the country at over 93% over the last 5 years.
This drastic increase in cost is due to several factors, including inflation, increased wholesale prices from PJM, and, crucially, local green energy mandates. Ratepayers around the country are facing increasing prices from inflation. But Maryland and New Jersey, also in the PJM service area, faced just 50% increases in cost over the same period. By trying to squeeze out the relatively small amount of carbon in its electricity grid, DC has chosen a policy path to meet its ambitious net zero goals in the most expensive way. Some estimates put the city’s implied cost of carbon, the price tag for abating a single metric ton of CO2 emissions, at $750 to $870. The next closest states are Massachusetts and New Jersey, both of which are at $300 to $400 per metric ton (Implied cost of carbon is the calculated financial cost per metric ton of greenhouse gas reduced by a specific policy or technology mandate).
It must be noted that carbon emissions are a global problem. The reality is that abating small amounts of carbon from the lowest-emitting state adds tremendous burdens on low-income residents while achieving no measurable impact on global climate change.
