# Washington, California and Quebec link carbon markets in largest subnational climate partnership
> Governor Ferguson signed the agreement in Seattle on June 29 to join Washington's cap-and-invest programme with the decade-old California-Quebec cap-and-trade system, creating a three-jurisdiction carbon bloc covering roughly 130 million people; the merged market is expected to start operating in 2027

**Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-06-29 · heads: The Quiet Shift · 3 takes · 3 lenses · 1 regions

## Summary

[Washington](/en/entity/united-states) Governor Bob Ferguson signed a carbon-market linkage agreement on June 29 to merge Washington's cap-and-invest programme with the California-Quebec cap-and-trade system that has been operating since 2014. The three-jurisdiction market, covering roughly 130 million people across two U.S. states and a Canadian province, becomes the largest subnational carbon pricing bloc in the world once it begins operating in 2027, pending parallel regulatory updates in each jurisdiction.

## Why it matters

The deal locks in cross-border carbon pricing at the subnational level as federal U.S. climate policy has stalled, and gives California and Quebec's established system a significant new entrant. Linked allowance pools reduce price volatility and make long-horizon clean-energy investment more predictable for businesses in all three jurisdictions.

## What to watch

- Regulatory processes in each jurisdiction required before 2027 launch.
- Whether the combined market attracts further subnational members (Oregon has its own programme).
- How the linked price per tonne compares to the standalone Washington price after integration.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### official signing announcement from Governor Bob Ferguson's office; the primary record of the agreement
- **Governor of Washington** (United States, en) — Governor Ferguson, joined by a Quebec government delegate and the Washington Ecology director, signed the carbon market linkage agreement at a Seattle ceremony. The linked market is subject to regulatory updates in all three jurisdictions and is expected to begin in 2027.
  > "Washington, California and Québec sign carbon market agreement, setting the stage for historic climate partnership."
  Source: https://governor.wa.gov/news/2026/washington-california-and-quebec-sign-carbon-market-agreement-setting-stage-historic-climate

### Pacific Northwest public broadcaster; community context on what the linkage means for Washington businesses and the state's cap-and-invest pricing
- **KNKX Public Radio** (United States, en) — Explains that linking markets allows Washington's smaller pool of carbon allowances to trade with California and Quebec's larger pool, which advocates say lowers volatility and gives businesses more predictable long-term pricing.
  > "Washington agrees to join carbon market with California and Quebec."
  Source: https://www.knkx.org/environment/2026-06-29/washington-agrees-to-join-carbon-market-with-california-and-quebec

### unlabelled
- **Lynnwood Times** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://lynnwoodtimes.com/2026/06/29/carbon-market-agreement/

## Across the graph
- Entities: United States

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