Government Takes Another Step Towards A Cap-and-Trade System

Ontario has joined the International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP), bringing it one step closer to a harmonized international approach to cap and trade.

Joining ICAP complements the province's action plan to reduce greenhouse gases and transform Ontario's economy and supports proposed cap-and-trade legislation currently being considered by the Legislature.

If passed, the proposed bill would enable Ontario to link to other North American and international cap-and-trade systems. Linked systems provide maximum trading opportunities and reduced costs for companies participating in a cap-and-trade system.

ICAP is a group of countries and regions that support carbon trading and are actively developing or have developed cap-and-trade systems. ICAP facilitates the linking of established and emerging cap-and-trade programs by promoting consistent regulatory frameworks across national borders.

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ICAP, established in 2007, brings together members and regions to share best practices and experiences around cap-and-trade development.

ICAP includes members from the European Union, Western Climate Initiative (WCI), Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and Australia, New Zealand and Norway. Japan and Ukraine are observers.

Ontario's Climate Change Action Plan calls for reducing greenhouse gases by 6 percent from 1990 levels by 2014 and 15 percent by 2020.