This month, in a move hailed by environmental groups, Quebec becomes the first Canadian province and the eleventh North American State to set a cap on GHGs with an “emission permit” system which could give way to the creation of a Carbon Stock Exchange. The new regulation targets the industry sector for 2013 and the transportation sector for 2014. Quebec’s goal is to prevent any increase in the industrial sector’s level of emissions, which is presently well below the Kyoto target, i.e. 25% less than for 1990, an achievement that Quebec wishes to preserve despite an anticipated production increase. The sale of emission permits should add $1 billion to the Government of Québec’s Green Fund, the purpose of which is to support sustainable development.
>> Read the article in Le Devoir (in French only) or an overview of the cap and trade exchange project on the website of the Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs.