15 October 2013

Québec and California are synchronizing and linking their cap-and-trade systems for greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions in an effort to create a joint carbon market.

The two programs will be officially linked starting on January 1, 2014.

“California and Québec are giving their cleantech research-and-development companies a competitive edge on the world market, which makes them trailblazers in the fight against climate change,” said Jean-François Lisée, Québec Minister of International Relations, La Francophonie, and External Trade.

In Sherbrooke

The new joint market will create business opportunities for many Sherbrooke companies in the Cleantech key sector. One such company is Enviro-access, which has GHG experts and auditors accredited by the Canadian Standards Association. Enviro-access is the first private-sector firm in Canada to be certified as a GHG Inventory Quantifier.

But there are other Sherbrooke-based companies that can reduce the GHG emissions of large manufacturers and transportation companies, such as Rackam (heat for industrial processes using solar energy), Enerkem (green fuel), and Idéal Combustion (biomass cogeneration).

 Sources: Government of Québec and Sherbrooke Innopole