Regional carbon rules gather pace

Fears that a failure to agree a global framework to tackle carbon emissions will lead to a patchwork of regulatory regimes look increasingly well founded, after two more North American regions this week unveiled their own emission reduction initiatives.

While the Canadian province of Ontario unveiled its own cap-and-trade legislation, the governor of the US state of Washington sidestepped her legislature's refusal to approve a similar scheme by imposing an executive order designed to implement carbon targets for heavy emitters.

Ontario's proposed legislation, backed by a policy paper, could put a cap-and-trade system in place in the province by 2012, according to the provincial government.

Existing legislation known as the Environmental Protection Act allows the province to implement a cap-and-trade scheme, but it will need to be amended to create a trading system for greenhouse gases that can include allowances and connect with other trading systems.

Under the proposals, Ontario will call for a six per cent cut in emissions on 1990 levels by 2014, rising to 15 per cent by 2020.

The state is already a member of the existing Western Climate Initiative (WCI) cap-and-trade scheme, and legislators said they were looking to harmonise the provincial legislation with federal and international schemes.

Meanwhile, Washington governor Chris Gregoire, disappointed by the state government's refusal to pass a cap-and-trade bill, took matters into her own hands by imposing an order designed to reduce emissions from the state's single coal-fired power plant by 50 per cent by 2025.

Under the order, the state, which is also a member of the WCI, facilities producing more than 25,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year will be mandated to develop and implement strategies to reduce their carbon footprint.