B.C., Ontario and
Quebec can build on that momentum
While yesterday's U.S. mid-term elections didn't do much to
improve the short-term prospects of U.S. federal action on climate change,
California offered some refreshingly positive news that should be a boon for
state and provincial action in both countries.
Proposition 23 was a referendum that would have effectively
killed California's continent-leading climate action plan if it had passed. A host of recent stories, including those in the Vancouver
Sun and Toronto
Star, offered doomsday scenarios about how a win for the proposition's backers
would have reverberated across the continent and set back state and provincial
plans that were counting on California's leadership.
The Western Climate Initiative was particularly at risk. The
initiative is a partnership of 11 states and provinces to start a cap and trade
system in January 2012. California is one of the five partners on schedule to
be ready for that date, and their economy is by far the biggest of the five. A
yes vote on Proposition 23 would have prevented them from participating. It
would have also made it more difficult for the other partners on the same
schedule (New Mexico, B.C., Ontario and Quebec) to stay the course.
Thankfully, Proposition 23 was defeated resoundingly on a few
levels. Most importantly, at the ballot box, 61% of
Californians said they wanted to keep going in their efforts to combat global
warming and build a green economy — no small feat in an election that saw
Americans extremely frustrated with government in general. Proposition 23 also
demonstrated what an economic powerhouse clean energy is becoming. In total, clean
energy companies, environmentalists and other opponents of Proposition 23
raised $32
million to support their effort compared to the $9 million raised primarily
by fossil fuel companies. California also elected a governor who opposed Proposition 23 in favour of clean energy and jobs.
On one hand, the rejection of Proposition 23 is a good
reason to breathe a sigh of relief. In essence, it was a climate policy crisis
averted. At the same time, it is an even better reason to take a deep breath and
get ready for the opportunities ahead. That's because the "no" vote also
removes what was probably the biggest barrier to the next step on state and
provincial climate action. California now has a bright green light for their
climate action plan — including the draft cap-and-trade rules it released last
week. California's Western Climate Initiative partners now have confidence that
the biggest economy in their partnership is going to be ready to go and will be
counting on them to do the same.
We know that green lights for climate action are few and far
between, so in Canada, now is the time for B.C., Quebec and Ontario to step on
the accelerator. They have every opportunity to get their cap-and-trade
regulations in place so they're ready to go on Jan. 1, 2012, with the strongest
cap-and-trade system possible.
