Western Climate Initiative
British Columbia has recently joined the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), a collaboration of seven U.S. states and four Canadian provinces that have joined together to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the region through a cap-and-trade system. The WCI's goal is to reduce GHG emissions in the region to 15% below 2005 levels by 2020.
The Canadian participants encompass 73% of the Canadian economy, representing 50% of all Canadian greenhouse gas emissions. When the first phase of the WCI program comes into effect in 2012, approximately 100 BC companies (notably natural gas producers, BC Hydro, cement makers, smelters and pulp and paper mills) will be affected. These companies will have upper limits on the amount of GHG emissions (25,000 metric tons of annual emissions) that they can emit without having to purchase additional emission credits.
For the initial period, the WCI program will cover emissions from fossil fuel combustion in the production of electricity (including electricity imports, industrial combustion (such as the burning of coal to produce cement) and emissions from other industrial processes. The WCI participants anticipate expanding the program to include emissions from transportion fuel combustion (i.e. gasoline and diesel) by 2015.
