Climate hopes dim in New York — even as Western states take major step forward

Even as California and Washington state prepare to merge their cap-and-trade climate programs, New York’s retreat from creating a similar program has sparked renewed debates about energy costs.

After years of painstaking work, California and Washington are poised to merge their programs aimed at reducing emissions and bringing in revenue to help fight climate change. The sweeping regulatory frameworks set limits on the amount of carbon dioxide that businesses can release and charge them per ton.