New Hampshire has announced it won’t join the controversial regional TCI compact just hours after a draft policy was released Tuesday, with Granite State Gov. Chris Sununu citing the proposed jacking up of gas prices as a burden on drivers.

“I will not force Granite Staters to pay more for their gas just to subsidize other states’ crumbling infrastructure,” Sununu said. “New Hampshire is already taking substantial steps to curb our carbon emissions, and this initiative, if enacted, would institute a new gas tax by up to 17 cents per gallon while only achieving minimal results. This program is a financial boondoggle and the people of New Hampshire will never support it.”

The Transportation Climate Initiative, a multi-state compact that would implement a gas fee to reduce carbon emissions, could raise prices at the pump by 17 cents in just the first year, according to estimates by state officials. Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides and officials from Maryland and Georgetown Climate Center presented estimates of the measure’s economic impact after a draft version of a memorandum of understanding was released Tuesday.

Officials told reporters that they did not examine how those economic impacts would change if any of the 12 states or the District of Columbia decided to back out. They also didn’t immediately say how high gas prices might go in subsequent years.

Opponents of the TCI compact have said that if neighboring states such as New Hampshire back out, the Massachusetts economy could take a hit due to higher gas prices.

Sununu announced that New Hampshire will not be participating in the Transportation and Climate Initiative because drivers would be forced to pay more for gas with “little environmental benefit to the state.” Rural communities would be left at a severe disadvantage if New Hampshire participated in the TCI, according to Sununu’s office, as drivers will bear the brunt of the artificially higher gas prices.

“NHDES has been actively monitoring the TCI process for the past year in order to fully understand the potential long and short term impacts of this potential regional program on NH,” said DES Commissioner Bob Scott. “NHDES intends to continue to observe these efforts and represent the interests of NH.”

“There are clearly better ways to achieve the purported goals of this program,” said Office of Strategic Initiatives Director Jared Chicoine. “This proposal is a huge hit to the wallets of rural drivers. The data makes it clear that — even without the TCI proposal — the market is already projected to reach many of the same environmental benchmarks. Here in New Hampshire, we are already aggressively moving forward with smarter environmental initiatives like more EV charging stations, offshore wind, and low income solar incentives to ensure New Hampshire’s long legacy of environmental stewardship continues to move forward.”