On 3 December, Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger announced a new climate change plan including commitments to reduce the province’s emissions by a third by 2030 from 2005 levels, halve emissions by 2050 and to reach carbon neutrality by 2080. To help reach these goals, Manitoba will implement an emissions trading system (ETS) for large emitters, designed to link to other programs in North America. Further details of the system will follow after public consultations are held.
Manitoba participated in the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), a group of US states and Canadian provinces working to develop a regional approach to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The WCI set a collective emissions reduction target of 15% compared to 2005 levels by 2020 to be met through a cap and trade program. A design proposal for the program was released in July 2010 and has informed the development of the systems in California, Québec, and now Ontario.
On 7 December, Manitoba signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the provinces of Québec and Ontario signalling their intent to link their systems under the WCI. The MoU also contains provisions on the tracking and monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as measures for climate change adaptation.