Ontario’s government has introduced legislation to develop a cap-and-trade system to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

It proposed legislation Wednesday that would, if passed, create the government authority to set up a greenhouse gas emissions trading system within Ontario. It also published a discussion paper to inform consultations over the summer on what Ontario’s cap-and-trade model could look like.

The government said it anticipates a North American cap-and-trade plan could be in place as early as 2012. The federal government has long favoured a cap-and-trade system too, although it has proposed a system that targets emissions intensity, rather than absolute emission levels.

Ontario is committed to reduce its GHG emissions to 6% below 1990 levels by 2014 and 15% by 2020. It reports that it has had months of discussions with nine industrial sectors, representing about 40% of provincial emissions, likely to be involved in cap and trade: base metals, cement, chemicals, electricity, lime, natural gas, petroleum, pulp and paper, and steel. Environmental groups were also consulted.

The paper is out for comment until July 26.

IE