Obama’s Climate Change Strategy: Details, response and implications for Canada

The document analyzes President Obama's 2013 climate strategy, which shifts toward EPA sector-regulation for electricity due to congressional inaction on carbon pricing. It compares this approach to Canada's regulations, examines the potential for continental equivalency in emissions trading, and discusses the plan's impact on the Keystone XL Pipeline and international climate negotiations.

• President Obama's strategy relies on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation as the primary tool for greenhouse gas mitigation because legislative carbon pricing options, such as cap-and-trade, are not viable without congressional consent.
• The U.S. plan instructs the EPA to pursue sector-regulation for the electricity sector—which accounts for 40% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions—and differs from Canada's approach by intending to regulate both existing and new facilities.
• There is potential for a 'continental equivalency approach' between the U.S. and Canada if federal regulations in both countries are supported by subnational carbon pricing systems, such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and the Western Climate Initiative (WCI).
• The approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline is contingent on whether the project 'significantly exacerbate[s]' carbon pollution, with the pipeline's net climate effects described as 'absolutely critical'.
• The U.S. plan includes specific domestic targets, such as increasing the federal government's renewable power consumption to 20% by 2020 (up from 7.5%) and producing 10GW of renewable capacity on public lands by 2020.
• Internationally, the plan seeks a new global agreement on carbon pollution and expands cooperation with major emitters like China, India, and Brazil, though it lacks a formal commitment on climate financing for developing countries.

APA

Dion, J., & Gass, P. (2013). Obama’s Climate Change Strategy: Details, response and implications for Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_obama_climate_profile.pdf

Chicago

Dion, Jason, and Philip Gass. Obama’s Climate Change Strategy: Details, response and implications for Canada. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2013. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_obama_climate_profile.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dion |first1=Jason |last2=Gass |first2=Philip |title=Obama’s Climate Change Strategy: Details, response and implications for Canada |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=July 2013 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_obama_climate_profile.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dion2013obamas, author = {Dion, Jason and Gass, Philip}, title = {{Obama’s Climate Change Strategy: Details, response and implications for Canada}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2013}, month = jul, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/climate_obama_climate_profile.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }