Four provinces sign pact to cut greenhouse gas emissions

Four of the largest Canadian provinces have joined the Western Climate Initiative, which is a group of U.S. states and Canadian provinces who have agreed to take regulatory action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The group released a draft regional “cap-and-trade” program in July, under which the different partner provinces and states would require facilities releasing more than 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide or its equivalent to monitor and report their emissions. Those facilities that produce more than 25,000 tonnes would “have a regulatory compliance obligation.”
Six greenhouse gases are covered by the draft program: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride.
The sectors first affected by the requirements would be electricity generation, and combustion at industrial and commercial facilities, including oil and gas processes.
The program would allow for offsets. These might include carbon sequestration in soil and manure management, forestry, and management of landfill gas and wastewater.
The schedule calls for reporting and monitoring to begin January 2010, and the launch of the cap-and-trade program in January 2012.
The Western Climate Initiative was launched by California, Arizona and other western U.S. states in February 2007. British Columbia and Manitoba joined a few months later, and Quebec and Ontario signed on this year. The Initiative now represents 73% of Canada’s economy. The overall goal is to reduce their aggregate emissions by 15% below 2005 levels by 2020.
To see the draft program, see www.westernclimateinitiative.org