Ontario Working with Québec and Mexico to Advance Carbon Markets

Ontario has signed a joint declaration with Québec and Mexico, committing to working together to fight climate change.

Ontario signed the agreement during Premier Kathleen Wynne’s mission to Mexico. The agreement will drive progress on the common commitment to pricing carbon.

All parties are in Guadalajara, Mexico for the 2016 Climate Summit of the Americas. Ontario, Québec and the Mexican states Baja California and Jalisco were among the 23 signatories to the Climate Action Statement, signed at the first Climate Summit of the Americas in Toronto on July 9, 2015.

The trilateral declaration establishes the foundation for sharing information and expertise on carbon markets and opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas pollution while driving innovation and supporting strong economic growth. International climate change agreements support the 2015 Paris Agreement signed at COP21 and help achieve regional, national and international greenhouse gas reduction targets.

Mexico recently announced that it will pilot a new carbon market starting in fall 2016. Ontario intends to link its cap and trade program, the first compliance period of which begins on January 1, 2017, to Québec and California’s in 2018 under the Western Climate Initiative, North America’s largest carbon market.

Ontario’s Climate Change Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act, passed in May 2016, establishes the foundation for the province’s cap and trade program. The Act requires the government to invest the proceeds from cap and trade back into actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, creating jobs and helping people and businesses shift to a low-carbon economy.

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Manning Environmental Law is a Canadian law firm based in Toronto, Ontario. Our practice is focussed on environmental law, energy law and aboriginal law. 

Paul Manning is a certified specialist in environmental law. He has been named as one of Canada’s leading Environmental Lawyers by Who’s Who Legal: Canada and ranked by Lexpert as one of Canada’s Leading Energy Lawyers.

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