Clinton wants North American climate agreement

OREANDA-NEWS. September 24, 2015. Democratic president candidate Hillary Clinton today called for a North American "climate compact" to help the continent reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and expand the use of low-carbon energy sources.

Clinton said that as president she would "immediately launch negotiations" with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to create a climate compact that includes ambitious national GHG reduction targets, coordinated policy approaches and "strong accountability measures."

"The entire North American continent must accelerate the clean energy transition and develop more comprehensive approaches to cutting carbon pollution," the Clinton campaign said as it rolled out a broader proposal for modernizing the US energy infrastructure.

Clinton did not say whether this coordinated approach would include a broad carbon market, but she noted that cap-and-trade programs are already driving GHG cuts across the continent. California's cap-and-trade program is linked with Quebec's, and the two will likely be joined by Ontario once that Canadian province finishes writing regulations. Mexican officials earlier this year said they were interested in creating a North American carbon market. The country is working with California to develop emissions reporting protocols to help support future carbon pricing.

Clinton issued the proposal, which she said would build on the US Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan for existing power plants, a day after Republican candidate former Florida governor Jeb Bush said he would make repealing the regulations one of this top priorities. Bush included the Clean Power Plan, which requires states to meet CO2 emissions targets by 2030, among five major Obama administration regulations he would seek to repeal or reform.

"The regulation will likely result in substantial price increases — often of more than 10pc — to many families' energy bills without meaningfully affecting either global emissions or temperature," the Bush campaign said.

In addition to a more coordinated effort on climate, Clinton said the US should work with Canada and Mexico to improve the continent's energy infrastructure, including natural gas and oil pipelines, rail safety measures and grid security. She also called for the US to invest more in clean energy development, transportation and research and development.

Clinton issued the proposal a day after saying she opposes construction of TransCanada's proposed 830,000 b/d Keystone XL crude pipeline, calling it a "distraction" from the effort to combat climate change.

In July Clinton proposed increased renewable energy to 33pc of US power generation by 2027.