SPEDE — Système de Plafonnement et d'Échange de Droits d'Émission
Québec's economy-wide cap-and-trade system covers approximately 80% of provincial greenhouse gas emissions. Linked with California since 2014 under the Western Climate Initiative, it forms North America's largest cross-border carbon market with joint quarterly auctions and fully fungible allowances.
Québec established its cap-and-trade system in 2013, creating a hard cap on total provincial emissions rather than an intensity-based system. The system covers fuel suppliers upstream, capturing the broadest economic base. Since January 2014, Québec has been linked with California under the Western Climate Initiative, enabling joint quarterly auctions on the WCI Inc. platform.
Auction revenues flow to the Fonds vert (Green Fund) for climate investments. Québec remains the only Canadian jurisdiction with international market linkage, allowing covered emitters to buy/sell allowances across jurisdictions seamlessly.
Annual cap reduction path toward −37.5% by 2030 and net-zero 2050. Hard absolute limit drives decarbonization across all covered sectors.
Quarterly auctions with California on WCI Inc. platform. Current and advance vintage allowances sold separately. Price discovery driven by competitive bidding.
Rises 5% annually plus inflation. CAD $26.47 for 2026. California's effective floor price also applies to linked allowances.
Three tiers (2025: $58.96, $75.75, $92.57). No hard ceiling unlike California—allows prices to rise to manage supply constraints.
EITE sectors receive free allowances. 2024 consignment mechanism requires GHG reduction spending of proceeds from consigned allowance sales.
Eligible projects: landfill methane, halocarbon destruction, afforestation, manure. 2M+ credits issued since 2014. Projects verified by third parties.
TerraNova transforms Québec compliance from a regulatory box-check into a strategic, value-creating process.
Accurate, auditable GHG inventory. Scope 1 & 2 data flows seamlessly into compliance filings and allowance forecasts.
Pinpoint emissions sources, rank decarbonization projects, calculate marginal abatement cost curves tailored to your operations.
Scenario analysis: internal abatement targets, offset sourcing, allowance purchasing strategy to minimize compliance costs.
Track free allocation entitlements, monitor consignment mechanism requirements, optimize benefit draw-downs under Québec's EITE framework.
Real-time allowance balance tracking, price scenarios, buy/bank/sell strategy under quarterly auction results and floor price changes.
Quarterly auction results, floor price updates, regulatory changes, linked California price intelligence—all in real time.
Québec's integration with California under WCI creates cross-border allowance fungibility and joint price discovery—a unique regulatory advantage for North American emitters and a model the rest of Canada has not yet adopted.
Consignment mechanism breakdown, EITE allocation shifts, regulatory updates, and compliance strategy implications.
Quarterly auction results, historical price curves, linked market dynamics, and forecast scenarios for 2026–2030.
Industrial competitiveness safeguards, allocation methodology, consignment proceeds requirements, and portfolio optimization.
Answers to the most common questions about Québec’s SPEDE cap-and-trade system, WCI linkage, and allowance trading.
SPEDE (Système de Plafonnement et d’Échange de Droits d’Émission) is Québec’s economy-wide cap-and-trade system covering approximately 80% of provincial greenhouse gas emissions. It has been linked with California since 2014 under the Western Climate Initiative, forming North America’s largest cross-border carbon market with joint quarterly auctions and fully fungible allowances.
Québec participates in quarterly joint auctions with California on the WCI Inc. platform. Both current and advance vintage allowances are sold separately. The floor price rises 5% annually plus inflation, with a price containment reserve mechanism (no hard ceiling unlike California). All allowances are fully fungible between jurisdictions.
Since 2024, a portion of free allocation for EITE (Emissions Intensive Trade Exposed) sectors is sold at auction on behalf of emitters through the consignment mechanism. Proceeds from consigned allowance sales must be spent by companies on greenhouse gas reduction projects, research and development, or GHG reduction studies.
Companies can use offset credits for up to 8% of their compliance obligation. Eligible project types include landfill methane destruction, halocarbon destruction, afforestation on private lands, and manure management projects. Over 2 million offset credits have been issued since the system’s launch in 2014.
Climate Decode’s TerraNova platform helps covered entities navigate Québec cap-and-trade: emission reporting and MRV, auction strategy, allowance portfolio management, free allocation and consignment tracking, offset credit integration, and compliance cost optimisation. The platform models different compliance scenarios across auction purchases, secondary market trades, and offset usage.
See how TerraNova delivers finance-grade Québec intelligence — from allowance price scenarios and auction strategy to decarbonisation planning under SPEDE and the WCI linked market.