Quebec and Ontario are inviting eight Great Lakes states to join the carbon trading market they’ve established with California.
The topic came up during a weekend conference, where premiers Philippe Couillard and Kathleen Wynne met with state leaders in Quebec City.
“I invite you to explore all the ways that a regional approach to lowering our carbon emissions will create new trade and investment opportunities and sustainable ways of growing our economy,” Wynne told representatives of Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The wider focus of the weekend meeting was on Great Lakes trade and environmental protection. Wynne announced two new agreements with Ohio and Michigan to combat invasive aquatic species and reduce the risk of algae blooms.
“Clearly growth that degrades our land, air and water — the very building blocks of health and economic prosperity — is a kind of false growth,” she said. “It will leave people worse off in the end.” (h/t to CBC for first pointing us to this story)