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Continuing its efforts to go where the federal government won’t, the Ontario government announced Wednesday morning it’ll hold a “Climate Summit of the Americas” in Toronto next July, just before the Pan-Am Games.

It’ll go along with a Pan-Am economic summit at the same time. Neither is an established part of the diplomatic calendar, things that happen on a regular schedule that Toronto is happening to get this year — they’re new. Environment and Climate Change Minister Glen Murray invited everybody at the current climate-change summit in Lima.

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Says his statement:

The Climate Summit of the Americas is an important step for Ontario and other pan-American states and regions, leading up to a binding international agreement in Paris next year. Governments, businesses and communities across the Americas recognize the urgency and immediacy of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through a range of measures, including integrated carbon markets. Ontario is honoured to host a summit that will demonstrate how collaboration and leadership on climate change can deliver a healthier planet and economic prosperity for us, our children and future generations.

The intention, besides keeping climate change in the public eye, is to have sub-national (i.e. provincial, state, territorial and so on) governments work together even if national governments won’t, on things like setting targets for greenhouse-gas reductions and devising ways of pricing carbon emissions to achieve those targets.