U.S. States Join Other Nations in Carbon Markets Partnership
A
coalition of European countries, U.S. states, Canadian provinces, New
Zealand and Norway announced on Oct. 29 the formation of the
International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) to address global
warming.
ICAP will provide an international forum in which governments and
public authorities adopting mandatory greenhouse gas emissions cap and
trade systems will share experiences and best practices on the design
of emissions trading schemes. This cooperation will ensure that the
programs are more compatible and are able to work together as the
foundation of a global carbon market. Such a market will boost demand
for low-carbon products and services, promote innovation and allow
cost-effective reductions so as to allow swift and ambitious global
reductions in global warming emissions, officials said.
The agreement was signed by U.S. and Canadian members of the Western
Climate Initiative, northeastern U.S. members of the Regional
Greenhouse Gas Initiative, and European members including the United
Kingdom, Germany, Portugal, France, the Netherlands and the European
Commission. New Zealand and Norway joined on behalf of their emissions
trading programs.
Leaders attending the summit included: President José Sócrates,
council of the European Union and prime minister of Portugal; European
Commission President José Manuel Barroso; New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine,
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and Premier Gordon Campbell, British
Columbia.
ICAP seeks to open lines of communication for sharing valuable
information, such as research, effective policy initiatives, lessons
learned and new developments. The new partnership supports the current
ongoing efforts undertaken under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, which all ICAP members agree has a
central role in fighting global warming.
For more information, contact ICAP at http://www.icapcarbonaction.com.