Cap and Trade

In April of the year, the EU adopted reforms and new targets for its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) to expand the scope of the market-based program that is central to the EU’s decarbonization strategy and update targets aimed at achieving 62% reductions in carbon emissions by 2030. VX presents this timely point/counterpoint on emissions trading as a ‘tool in the toolbox’ for incentivizing carbon emissions reduction.

CARB Chair Mary Nichols explains the potential impact of the Volkswagen settlement for electric transportation, as well as how the national leadership vacuum on climate change is affecting California's international partnerships.

Ontario finalized its cap-and-trade program in June, and will conduct the first auction in July. As a member of the Western Climate Initiative, the province has also signaled its intent to link its system to similar ones operating in Quebec and California. The Climate Change Mitigation and Low-Carbon Economy Act mandates that revenues from Ontario’s auctions go into the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account to fund a number of diverse programs aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. But experts disagree on how the province can best recycle the cap-and-trade revenue. Before the program was finalized, the Canada EcoFiscal Commission hosted a roundtable of advocates from around the country representing priorities from social inequality to business development. VX News presents an excerpt of the debate with remarks by Chris Ragan, chair of the Canada EcoFiscal Commission; Rick Smith, executive director of the Broadbent Institute; Vicky Sharpe, senior fellow at the International Institute for Sustainable Development; Mike Moffat, chief economist at the Moet Center; and Mark Cameron, executive director of Canadians for Clean Prosperity.

On November 3, VerdeXchange Institute co-hosted Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, welcoming her to LACI's La Kretz Innovation Campus for a conversation with CARB's Mayor Nichols and former California ISO Chair Bob Foster, moderated by Waterloo Innovation Summit Chair David Fransen. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti opened the program. Here, VX News presents edited excerpts from the conversation.

David Heurtel is Québec’s first Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment, and the Fight Against Climate Change. After over a year of overseeing this comprehensive mission, Heurtel spoke with VX News about the growing movement of subnational entities collaborating across countries in order to build an international green economy. In particular, he comments on the thriving cap-and-trade relationship between Québec and California that accommodates the needs of the two very different regions, as well as lessons learned about how to implement a successful cap-and-trade system. He also explains why in Québec, environmental action transcends politics.