City and Regional Governments Ramp Up Fight Against Climate Change

Globally, climate action and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction programs are becoming increasingly prevalent as electricity costs and climate change become larger areas of concern for residents. In North America alone, cities such as Boston, Los Angeles, Portland, San Francisco, Minneapolis, Vancouver, and Toronto have defined ambitious targets for improving sustainability and reducing GHG emissions and energy consumption.

While national aspirations were largely aligned during the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP21 Paris conference, the global partnership lacks meaningful implementation and enforcement mechanisms. In the United States in particular, climate change is heavily politicized, and little action is being taken on a national legislative basis to combat the problem.

Climate Action Plans of Selected Cities

(Source: Guidehouse Insights)

To fill the gap from strong city action and low levels of national alignment, several state and provincial governments have recently taken bold action to combat climate change. The province of Ontario unveiled its new sweeping Climate Change Action Plan in June 2016. The initiative is expected to spend up to $8.3 billion on a range of clean technology programs, largely funded from the provinces’ cap-and-trade program. The Climate Change Action plan aims to quickly transition the province toward more energy efficient heating systems, electric and hybrid cars (via a rebate of up to $14,000), promote the conversion of diesel-powered trucks to natural gas, and help the industrial and agricultural sectors adopt low-carbon technologies.

State and Provincial Collaboration

The state of California, well-known for its clean energy leadership, has a cap-and-trade program that is linked to three Canadian provinces: Quebec, Manitoba, and Ontario. Cap-and-trade programs now cover 61.8 million people across North America—38.8 million in California, 13.6 million in Ontario, 8.2 million in Quebec, and 1.2 million in Manitoba. Each of these programs are designed to drive down emissions and set aggressive GHG reduction targets. Over 17% of the combined North American population (354.1 million people, with 318.9 million from the United States and 35.2 million from Canada) is now participating—knowingly or unknowingly—in a cap-and-trade program without any national or regional framework in place. This figure is anticipated to grow significantly as more states and provinces look to fill the void left by national governments by creating enforceable programs that reduce overall GHG emissions levels.