Western North American Group Works on Carbon Goals

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Western U.S. states and Canadian provinces eyeing a joint carbon trading market are hoping to resolve differences over issues such as how emissions are calculated.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- Western U.S. states and Canadian provinces eyeing a joint carbon trading market are hoping to resolve differences over issues such as how emissions are calculated.


Representatives of the six U.S. states and two Canadian provinces in the Western Climate Initiative began three days of meetings in Vancouver Thursday. Two provinces and two states that are thinking of joining the group are also expected to attend.


British Columbia Environment Minister Barry Penner hopes the meeting will help narrow down the options the group will consider as it struggles to set regional greenhouse gas reduction goals for 2020 and 2050.


The group is expected to announce those goals later in the month.


Although the group was spearheaded by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, his state's plan for calculating carbon dioxide emissions has reportedly drawn objections from at least two other states.


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The WCI's members include California, Washington, Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Manitoba and British Columbia.


Penner said that among governments attending the meeting as observers is the central Canadian province of Ontario, which is the country's most populous and industrialized province.


The group has been seen as an attempt by the states and provinces to bypass both countries' federal governments with more aggressive approaches to dealing with the problem of global warming.


Source: Reuters


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