On October 28, 2013, two U.S. states, Washington and Oregon, signed an agreement with California and the Canadian province British Columbia that will set prices for carbon emissions in Oregon and set emissions limits and standards for Washington, efforts that will help to align regional efforts.
The collaboration follows a prior effort to form a regional authority on emissions trading policies, the Western Climate Initiative (WCI); the group’s members currently include British Columbia, California, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.
WCI will meet with officials from the Chinese coast in January to discuss possible collaboration.
These actions demonstrate continued U.S. and Canadian interest in pursuing regional carbon markets, an effort which has slowed on the national agenda.
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With global climate action stagnating, sustained community-driven initiatives can fill the governance gap and also help mitigate climate-related security risks in South Asia.
The longstanding dispute over water rights among Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia escalated in 2011 when Ethiopia began construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), in the absence of any agreement with downstream Egypt. The GERD dispute offers an alarming insight into just how dangerous future transboundary water disputes may become, particularly in the context of a changing climate.
Though focused on climate change, National Adaptation Plans offer important assessments of the risks a country faces and can be valuable in devising comprehensive pandemic response strategies.
Women in the region suffer disproportionately from climate impacts, but they also play an essential role in addressing climate change. With the right policy responses, it is possible to reduce security risks and empower women to better address the challenges they face.