B.C. Introduces Canada's First Carbon Cap With Unique Legislation

The government in British Columbia has introduced legislation that will limit greenhouse gas emissions by major polluters. This story from the National Post talks about a bill in Canada that is the first of its kind. The "Cap and Trade Act" is part of B.C.'s plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2020.

Environment Minister Barry Penner said the legislation will allow B.C. to join with Manitoba and seven states in the U.S. to set up a "cap-and-trade" system for reducing pollution.

Under the system, the government will set a limit or "cap" on total emissions for a group of big polluters. It will then issue "credits" to the companies that allow them to emit a certain amount of pollution. For instance, one credit might equal one tonne of carbon dioxide.

It's actually a pretty forward-thinking rule to curb enviro-pollution; if a company exceeds its "credited amount" it has to trade or buy carbon credits from other companies that don't pollute as much. I can imagine it will cost quite a bit for companies to do business in the province under this legislation (they would have to set up divisions to manage this kind of stuff) so it could backfire by pushing companies to other provinces to get things done. Alberta, indirectly, could see a surge it its bottom line if migrating businesses look for places without such stringent rules. However, from an environmental standpoint it could be quite advanced and helpful, as "cleaner" companies can actually profit by selling credits they don't use or need. Big polluters would also be forced to spend more time and money on being greener to lower their operating costs. The government says it will start small and gradually tighten the leash to put more and more pressure on companies to go green and cut emissions. What do you think? Will this hurt business, or do the benefits for the environment outweigh any opportunity cost?