Dear friends and colleagues, 

As I look through the various climate stories making headlines over the last few weeks, one thing is clear: it's going to be an action-packed run up to the next international climate conference in Paris in December.

The U.S. met the UN's March 31st deadline to submit its GHG reduction target post-2020. The target, first announced in November alongside China, is to reduce GHGs by 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025.

How will we achieve that target? President Obama's Clean Power Plan (CPP), which aims to cut carbon emissions from existing coal-fired power plants, will be a sizeable part of the solution. But it is not without its share of legal challenges: two of the largest coal companies in the U.S., as well as 14 states have taken their case to the Supreme Court, contending that the U.S. EPA lacks the authority to issue the regulation under the Clean Air Act. Preliminary signals from the federal judges suggest that the case won't hold up in court, and that states will in fact be required to regulate their electricity sectors for carbon emissions and transition to cleaner forms of energy.

TCR is working with some of these states on mechanisms for compliance with the CPP, focusing particularly on energy efficiency. We look forward to sharing more on this soon.

Looking further afield, this week TCR Board member, Ontario, announced its intention to join Quebec and California in cap-and-trade. The announcement preceded a provincial climate summit, during which the provinces and territories discussed their contributions to Canada's response to climate change. While Ontario intends to hammer out the details after a round of extensive public consultation, their future participation means that more than 75% of Canadians will soon be living in provinces that have some form of carbon pricing.

As a global expert in GHG measurement, reporting and verification, and a proponent of action on climate change, we welcome this progress and are here to support our members and Board jurisdictions with a range of solutions. My guess is that the pre-Paris conversation is only just getting started.

My very best,

David Rosenheim

Executive Director