European insights from the integration of emissions trading systems helped inform participants at GLOBE 2010, North America’s largest international conference on business and the environment. Michael Mehling of the Ecologic Institute in Washington DC joined a panel sponsored by the German Consulate General in Vancouver.

Speaking at a panel on North American carbon trading initiatives, Michael Mehling drew on experiences with the EU emissions trading system to comment on the prospects for cross-border allowance trading between Canada and the United States. In a well-attended session, panelists discussed how emerging carbon trading systems will operate in an integrated economy, identifying the implications and opportunities for businesses operating in North America.

Other panelists included:

• Henry Derwent, President & CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association, Geneva;
• Tim Lesiuk, Executive Director for Business Development at the Climate Action Secretariat, Victoria;
• Janet Peace, Vice President at the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Arlington; 
• Velma McColl, Principal of Earnscliffe Strategy Group, Ottawa; and
• Oliver Bussler, Senior Manager at Capital Power Corporation, Edmonton.

Carried out annually for 20 years, GLOBE is one of the world's largest and longest-running events dedicated to the business of the environment. Every two years, over 10,000 professionals from more than 70 countries come together at GLOBE for three days of thought-leading sessions presented by world-renowned sustainability experts, to survey leading-edge environmental innovations, and to participate in unparalleled global networking opportunities.