CA and Canada work together to reach emissions targets with joint cap-and-trade program

California Gov. Jerry Brown, right, shakes hands with former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, left, after signing a climate bill on Treasure Island, Tuesday, July 25, 2017, in San Francisco. Gov. Brown signed legislation keeping alive California's signature initiative to fight global warming, which puts a cap and a price on climate-changing emissions. The Democratic governor was joined by his celebrity predecessor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who signed the 2006 bill that led to the creation of the nation's only cap and trade system to reduce greenhouse gases in all industries.

Even after President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, California continues to operate an international cap-and-trade program with Canadian provinces.

Last month, after a lot of political wrangling, Governor Jerry Brown succeeded in extending the state's cap-and-trade program.

It's designed to limit the overall production of greenhouse gases by allowing companies to buy and sell credits for carbon emissions. The program is managed by a private nonprofit corporation operating out of Sacramento.

The California cap-and-trade market actually extends outside of California – outside of the U.S. borders, in fact. It includes the Canadian province of Quebec as a trading partner, and Ontario is expected to join. This arrangement is part of the Western Climate Initiative, or WCI.

And now, with more states committing to reducing emissions after President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris climate agreement, some are wondering if these states will join the WCI.

Take Two spoke with Robert Jackel, a lawyer who specializes in regulation and wrote about this for The Atlantic.

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