North American climate governance, or how states and provinces can lead the way: Lessons from implementation of the Western Climate Initiative
Other titre : The Implementation of the Western Climate Initiative: How North American states and provinces lead international climate negotiations
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Publication date
2017Author(s)
Chaloux, Annie
Subject
Western Climate InitiativeAbstract
Abstract: Today, the Western Climate Initiative is internationally recognized as a success story in global
climate negotiations. However, between the first expression of the idea of a cap-and-trade
system in 2007 and the launch of carbon trading in 2013, the number of participating Canadian
provinces and US states fell from 11 to 2, and important hurdles risked derailing the project
completely. The trajectory of this innovative cross-boundary policy holds important lessons
around the prospects and pitfalls of green paradiplomacy in the North American context. This
paper examines the impetus for subnational efforts to combat climate change in the face of
federal inaction, and, through detailed examination of the WCI, looks at jurisdictional,
administrative, legal, political, social and economic factors that complicate the implementation of
these initiatives. The analysis enables a better understanding of prospects for the establishment
of norms, rules and institutions among North American federated states that can provide durable
environmental regimes.