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News Releases
No. 108/07
October 29, 2007
INTERNATIONAL CARBON ACTION PARTNERSHIP LAUNCHED
A coalition of European countries, US states, Canadian
provinces, New Zealand and the European Commission today
launched an international effort to fight
climate change
by seeking to build a global carbon trading market.
The International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) will
provide an international forum in which governments and
public authorities will share experiences and lessons
learned with each other on how best to restrict
emissions through carbon trading schemes. This
cooperation will ensure that so-called cap and trade
programs are more compatible and are able to work
together as the foundation of a global carbon market.
Such a market will boost demand for low-carbon products
and services, promote innovation and achieve global
emission reductions as quickly and cheaply as possible.
 "By launching the International Carbon Action
Partnership, we will take a historic step towards the
development of a global carbon market," said European
Commission President
José Manuel Barroso.
"A market that
will help finance the transition to a low-carbon world
economy."
Leaders attending the launch of ICAP in Lisbon today
included: President José Sócrates, Council of the
European Union and Prime Minister of Portugal; European
Commission President José Manuel Barroso; Governor Jon
Corzine, New Jersey; Governor Eliot Spitzer, New York;
and Premier Gordon Campbell, British Columbia. Gordon
Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Arnold
Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, participated
with video messages.
The ground-breaking international and interregional
agreement was signed today by US and Canadian members of
the Western Climate Initiative, northeastern US
members of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, as
well as European members including the United Kingdom,
Germany, Portugal, France and the Netherlands.
For further information, please visit:
www.ICAPCarbonAction.com and
http://www.eurunion.org/newsweb/HotTopics/ClimateChange.htm
.
Further Contact Information
Press and Public Diplomacy
Delegation of the European Commission
2300 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.eurunion.org/PressRoom
Tel: 202-862-9552
Fax: 202-429-1766
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