Development of Carbon Emissions Trading in Canada

Given the widely accepted belief that climate change is a real and imminent global threat, regulation of greenhouse gas emissions has grown and will continue to develop both in Canada and internationally. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have the objective of attempting to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions at a level that will prevent damage to the earth by limiting human induced emissions. This article canvasses Alberta’s current greenhouse gas emissions regulatory framework and Canada’s proposed regulatory framework for air emissions and considers the potential for harmonization of the federal and provincial systems. Finally, this article explores carbon emissions trading globally, including the voluntary trading market, and considers the future development of carbon emissions trading both in Canada and across the globe.