RFF Adopts the Pricing Carbon Initiative

On Monday, October 20, Resources for the Future (RFF) will absorb the Pricing Carbon Initiative (PCI), a Washington, DC–based organization that hosts dialogues on carbon pricing policies.

PCI as an independent organization will dissolve, but RFF will uphold the pricing carbon dialogue event series and continue PCI’s mission of furthering constructive conversations about carbon pricing policies and building public awareness. Through the pricing carbon dialogues, RFF will preserve PCI’s diverse network of over 300 policymakers, business leaders, advocates, and experts knowledgeable about carbon pricing issues.

“RFF’s adoption of PCI makes sense for both organizations,” said Marc Hafstead, who leads research on carbon pricing at RFF. “PCI’s established network, combined with RFF’s expertise and resources, will mean that we can foster carbon pricing conversations more effectively than either organization could alone. My colleagues and I are excited that we are expanding RFF’s work in this way and helping PCI’s mission thrive in a new form.”

Founded in 2011, PCI has hosted several workshops and forums annually to encourage bipartisan discussions on carbon pricing and related market-based climate policies. These gatherings typically operated via the Chatham House Rule to encourage candid conversations. RFF experts have been involved since PCI’s inception and have contributed to, and learned from, these dialogues. As a non-advocacy organization, RFF particularly benefited from learning which carbon pricing policy design options needed more research.

Now, PCI’s convenings will become part of RFF’s own repertoire of private workshops and public events on climate-related topics. PCI’s knowledge base will also strengthen RFF’s long-standing work on carbon pricing. RFF researchers have written dozens of publications about carbon pricing and have informed policymakers working on both federal and state-level legislation, most recently carbon border adjustment proposals.

“Carbon pricing has long been debated as a policy tool to confront the climate challenge,” said Danny Richter, the director of PCI. “It’s important to have someone prioritizing carbon pricing policy conversations across the political spectrum, especially with so many other proposals and ideas out there. As PCI’s time as an independent organization draws to a close, I am excited and thankful that the work to build trust across differences will continue under RFF’s capable direction. I’m looking forward to working with everyone here.”

Richter, who has led PCI since 2022, will work with RFF as a consultant to ensure a straightforward transition and establish sustainable funding sources for future convenings. PCI’s steering committee will continue to provide a strategic source of advice for Richter and Hafstead as they lead the dialogues moving forward.

“We’re proud of our role as a convener of experts, policymakers, business leaders, and others who help move policy ideas and research forward,” said Billy Pizer, RFF’s president and CEO. “We are glad to have the opportunity to strengthen this role and continue to give these experts a place to discuss important policy. We’re grateful to our partners at PCI who made this transition as smooth as it could be, and we’re confident that the work they started over a decade ago is in good hands.”

In the coming months, RFF will begin planning for the next round of webinars and events on carbon pricing-related topics. For more information about PCI’s integration into RFF’s carbon pricing initiative and the pricing carbon dialogue event series, please contact RFF Fellow Marc Hafstead at [email protected].