THe Northeast and Northwest took steps this week toward carbon cap and trade.

Greenhouse gases went on sale Thursday as 10 Northeastern states held the nation's first auction of pollution credits aimed at curbing global warming.

"Carbon goes on the auction block in Northeast" (AP)

Tuesday, the Western Climate Initiative unveiled its final proposal for a market-based system to cap and reduce the region's global warming pollution.

"Putting a Cost on Carbon" (ClimateBiz)

Where does the WCI proposal go from here?

"While the WCI proposal takes an important step toward that goal, it is only a first step," e-mailed Ross Macfarlane, senior legal advisor at Portland-based Climate Solutions. "The legislatures in both states will need to pass authorizing bills. Individual states and provinces are also empowered to make some critical choices about how they'll implement the program."

Ross refers to Oregon and Washington, which are only two of seven states and four Provinces participating in WCI.

Debates continue over whether the pollution permits should be auctioned or given away. Offsets are another point of contention. And neither transportation emissions nor the natural gas used in homes and businesses would be subject to the emissions cap until 2015.