The International Carbon Action Partnership, a nonprofit organization that fights climate change through the use of a global carbon-trading market, was started Monday in Lisbon, Portugal, by officials from the European Union, Canada, Norway, New Zealand, and three U.S. states — California, New Jersey, and New York, reports the Associated Press.

The partnership groups countries and regions that cap and trade environmentally damaging carbon-dioxide emissions by companies, and aims to open up an international market for cross-border trading using these “pollution permits.”

Although the European Union began a carbon-emissions trading scheme in 2005, the establishment of the nonprofit partnership is seen by many as a significant step toward a more sophisticated worldwide plan. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said, “Putting a price on carbon is the vital ‘pull factor’ needed to ensure a healthy market for clean technologies. It’s a major driver for innovation, for the creation of markets, and for future activity.”