CLIMATE STRATEGIES Linking Existing and Proposed Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Schemes in North America

The document analyzes the landscape of emissions trading schemes (ETS) in North America, noting that while regional initiatives like the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) and Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) are advanced, national efforts in the US and Canada face coordination challenges. It argues that linking is logical due to economic ties, but current designs—particularly Canada's intensity-based targets—create barriers to bilateral links with absolute-cap schemes. The author concludes that a US federal scheme would likely preempt most state schemes, while Canada may use equivalency agreements to allow provincial schemes to persist.

• Most North American emissions trading schemes, with the exception of Alberta's, allow for the unilateral use of external credits or allowances, though these are subject to qualitative and quantitative limits.
• The Alberta emissions trading scheme is unlikely to link with other systems because it uses an emissions intensity target, lacks additionality requirements for offset credits, and employs a price cap.
• The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) allows the use of UNFCCC units or credits from other approved schemes only if the allowance price exceeds a (2005) $10 threshold.
• The Western Climate Initiative (WCI) design allows participants to use allowances from other schemes and CDM credits, capping the total use of offsets and external allowances at 49% of emission reductions from 2012 to 2020.
• Canada's proposed federal scheme is unlikely to be compatible with absolute-cap schemes in the US, RGGI, or WCI because it utilizes intensity targets rather than absolute caps.
• In the United States, a federal emissions trading scheme would likely replace most state-level schemes, although some states with more stringent requirements might maintain their own systems.
• Canada may resolve overlaps between national and provincial schemes through equivalency agreements under the Canada Environmental Protection Act, allowing provincial regimes to apply instead of federal regulations.

APA

Haites, E. (2009). CLIMATE STRATEGIES Linking Existing and Proposed Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Schemes in North America. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/linkingnorthamerica.pdf

Chicago

Haites, Erik. CLIMATE STRATEGIES Linking Existing and Proposed Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Schemes in North America. Climate Strategies, 2009. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/linkingnorthamerica.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Haites |first1=Erik |title=CLIMATE STRATEGIES Linking Existing and Proposed Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Schemes in North America |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=February 2009 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/linkingnorthamerica.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{haites2009climate, author = {Haites, Erik}, title = {{CLIMATE STRATEGIES Linking Existing and Proposed Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Schemes in North America}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2009}, month = feb, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/linkingnorthamerica.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }