Quebec Caught in the Battle Between Trump and California

After saying it would revoke California's authority to set strict car pollution rules that nearly two dozen states had adopted, the U.S government is now suing California's for entering a climate agreement with Quebec.

Donald Trump’s administration alleges this agreement violates the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits states from making treaties or pacts with foreign powers.

• Also: California Threatens Ban on Combustion Engines
• Also: Gas-only Cars to be Banned in Quebec in 2035

So, what are they talking about exactly?

Well, on October 1st, 2013, Quebec and the California Air Resources Board signed a deal outlining the steps and procedures to harmonize their respective cap-and-trade emissions-curbing climate programs. It came into effect on January 1st, 2014.

All of that was done without congressional approval, Washington claims.

California and Quebec's emissions-trading programs are connected through the Western Climate Initiative, a carbon market system in which governments set a steadily declining limit on emissions, and polluters that cut emissions quickly can sell credits to others that need more time.

Quebec became a member in 2008, followed by Ontario. British Columbia and Manitoba entered the WCI a year prior. Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington are member states from the U.S.

Environmental lawyers have said the three Republican and Democratic governors in California who designed the cap-and-trade system and authorized its linkage with Quebec's market were on "solid legal and constitutional ground."

Also, “there is much uncertainty in this area of U.S. constitutional law because the courts have not made many rulings in this area," said David Wright, a law professor at the University of Calgary.

Current California Governor Gavin Newsom believes the Trump administration has a "political vendetta" against his state and its policies on climate change.