By Shane Pepin

The past three months have seen a flurry of legislative activity in Canada regarding climate change. At the national and provincial levels, pronouncements, legislation, and political wrangling have become a daily occurrence. In the United States, there has been just as much, if not more, activity concerning regulating emissions and tackling climate change. Taking a closer look at what is going on in the United States on this issue provides an interesting glimpse on how North Americans are approaching the same problems that climate change presents.

There has been much publicity in recent years concerning the US rejection of the Kyoto agreement and reluctance on the part of the current administration to take climate change as a real and serious problem. Although still not a member of the Kyoto Protocol, the position of the Bush Administration has changed to one of acceptance of the issue. Even before this new reality, however, there was a great deal of activity by all levels of government to address the issue. At the local, regional and national level, there are different approaches all proposed or already in effect that deserve attention.

Though the US Federal Government rejected Kyoto and its associated targets, there are many citizens and groups that still wish to adhere to its principles. The primary example of this is the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement (MCPA), launched in February of 2005. Started in Seattle by Mayor Greg Nickels, the MCPA was an initiative designed to advance the goals of climate change action where the federal government had failed to do so. This agreement has three key principles:

• Strive to meet or beat the Kyoto Protocol targets in their own communities, which are a 7% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2012;
• Urge their state governments, and the federal government, to enact policies and programs to meet or beat the greenhouse gas emission reduction target suggested for the United States in the Kyoto Protocol
• Urge the U.S. Congress to pass the bipartisan greenhouse gas reduction legislation, which would establish a national emission trading system

As of August 2007, at least 637 mayors nationwide have signed the agreement, representing over a third of the US population.

At a regional level, there are currently five initiatives at play. Traveling from the west coast to the east coast we have:

• Western Regional Climate Action Initiative (WRCAI)
• Western Governors Association (WGA)
• Powering the Plains
• New England Governors, Eastern Canadian Premiers (NEG-ECP)
• Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)

All five regional initiatives have goals that attempt to address the pressing issues of climate change. To accomplish this, many different measures have been proposed including carbon trading schemes, vehicle fuel standards, renewable energy investment, and energy efficiency investment, to name a few. Each initiative has merit and will hopefully propel their member states towards improved performance with respect to climate change. To illustrate just how they work, we’ll take a look at one of the regional programs, the WRCAI.

The power of each of these regional initiatives comes from their geographic and economic scope, which increases with each member state added. As an example, the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative began as two separate regional initiatives, the Southwest Climate Change Initiative of 2006, which includes Arizona and New Mexico, and the West Coast Governors' Global Warming Initiative of 2003, which includes California, Oregon, and Washington. Using the learned experiences from each program, combined with the increased economic clout of the combined regional programs, the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative has the potential to affect real and substantial action on climate change issues for the North American continent.

Since its inception in February of this year, this regional program has gained momentum, adding the state of Utah, and the provinces of British Columbia and Manitoba. The potential for others to join remains high, which is encouraging news, as the WRCAI has already released target reduction goals for its members and a preliminary action plan to get there. Under the initiative, member states are asked to make a 15% emissions reduction by 2020 versus 2005 levels. One tool that has been proposed (implementation by August 2008) is a market-based system, such as a cap-and-trade program covering multiple economic sectors. The potential for a large-scale regional cap-and-trade program to come into effect in North America is a positive sign, even for those states and provinces outside the agreement. The potential for standardization continent-wide of reporting and trading of emission allowances and credits is greatly improved once a mandatory, fully functional market is in place.

Federally, the wheels of legislation have begun turning, especially after the Democrats gained control of the Senate and Congress last fall. With the introduction of the 110th Congress last fall, over 125 bills concerning issues related to climate change have been introduced, a rate higher than any previous Congress. This is not to suggest that climate change, or the environment, is a purely Democratic issue. Two recent acts, introduced by the Senate, have a distinctly bi-partisan flavour.

The first proposal, the Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007, was introduced in July by Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Arlen Specter (R-PA). The act calls for national reduction targets for greenhouse gas emissions extending out to 2030. The primary method for achieving these targets would be an emissions trading system that covers carbon intensive industries and utilities. There has been some criticisms from some environmental groups and other interested parties over the existence of a “carbon safety valve” that would allow market participants to purchase carbon allowances at a fixed price through investments in a green technology fund. Currently, the safety valve price has been set at $12 per ton of CO2 in 2012, rising to around $23 (in 2012 dollars) in 2025. There is potential that a price set at these low rates would render the actual market ineffective. Nevertheless, the bill is a positive step towards national regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.

The second proposal, labeled America’s Climate Security Act of 2007, was announced in August by Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CO) and John Warner (R-VI). The senators propose a mandatory, market-based cap-and-trade program that would cover 80 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and that would reduce those emissions to current levels by 2012, to 10 percent below current levels by 2020, and to 70 percent below current levels by 2050. As with the Low Carbon Economy Act of 2007, the Lieberman-Warner proposal has come under fire for not being strict enough in its targets. The proposal will be introduced this fall into the Senate, and both senators have stated that all the details have not yet been finalized.

These legislative proposals, combined with the regional and local initiatives occurring across the United States send a clear signal that action on climate change is forthcoming and mandatory. This signals a large shift in how the climate change problem is viewed in North America, as US action on the issue will require partnership with Canadian provinces, the federal government, and even communities themselves in order to ensure that Canada and the US move in a common direction. It is clear that finally, after much talk and little action, a true continental approach to the climate change issue may be forming.

Shane Pepin is an environmental specialist at Energy Advantage Inc.’s Burlington office.