In an effort to compensate for the failure of central governments to address the dangers of climate change with comprehensive national policies, cities, states and regions have developed their own strategies to rein in emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. California’s ambitious plan aims to reduce emissions 80 percent by 2050 by requiring cleaner cars, more energy-efficient buildings and renewable fuels. Nine northeastern states have joined in a regional trading program aimed at reducing power-plant emissions.

Now a Canadian province, British Columbia, has joined California, Oregon and Washington in a new regional scheme called the Pacific Coast Action Plan on Climate and Energy. The agreement is not legally binding and contains no new money, but the overall objective is to step up the adoption of clean energy and link carbon pricing plans. California, like the northeastern states, has a cap-and-trade program; British Columbia has had a carbon tax for five years. The governors of Oregon and Washington, both Democrats, are working on ways to price carbon, though they could face tough-going in their state legislatures.

The new coalition has been largely inspired by impatience with Congress and the Canadian Parliament, both of which are in thrall to oil and seem deeply resistant to facing the reality of climate change. If it prospers, the coalition should have a lot of clout. Together, the three states and British Columbia have an enormous economy, a population of more than 50 million people, a history of economic and technological innovation, and front-row seats on the ocean, where climate change will have a profound effect.

The trick, of course, will be to smooth out differences and bring Oregon and Washington along, but the idea is fundamentally sound. Unlike Congress and Parliament in Canada, this regional coalition rightly sees the task of limiting climate change not as an economic threat but an economic opportunity, a chance to create new jobs and new industries.