Ontario and Quebec Create Carbon Cap-and-Trade System

Quebec and Ontario Bypass Federal Government on ClimateTired of waiting for the federal government to make a big move on the climate front, Canada's two most populous provinces, Quebec and Ontario, have decided to forge ahead on their own. Today they're signing an accord that will create a system of carbon cap-and-trade. The two provinces hope that this will eventually be expanded to include all Canadian provinces.

"I just want us to be ahead of this curve," Quebec's prime minister told reporters. "I don't want us to be playing catch-up to a new American government in less than a year from now."

This new system follows plans by Quebec to add over 2,000 new megawatts of wind power to the province's electricity grid and Ontario's 400+ megawatts of solar power.

Climate Leadership for North-America?If both provinces create a market framework that puts a price on greenhouse gases and if they encourage clean energies (such as solar, wind, wave, geothermal, etc), they could become leaders and models in North-America at this crucial time when big changes are on the horizon. We encourage to keep going even if the federal government isn't playing along for now. It's bad to put all your eggs in the same basket and hope that a central government will save the day: Green has to come from all levels of government, as well as from the private and non-profit sectors.

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