Alberta could collect $3B per year through carbon tax

Rachel Notley, Premier of Alberta, said: “Responding to climate change is about doing what’s right for future generations of Albertans – protecting our jobs, health and the environment”.

“There is a direct link between the burning of coal and asthma exacerbations, hospital admissions, and untimely deaths, not to mention climate change”. Notley has argued that the reputation is unfair, but its impact was felt in the recent rejection by U.S. President Barack Obama of the Keystone XL pipeline.

And considering the weekend’s announcement, that might be just as well. “And I do believe that this is a… particular penalty on oilsands producers that’s much more disadvantageous to them than other industries”. The tax would start at $20 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions and rise to $30 by 2018. The government can do this by refunding the cost of higher carbon prices for individuals and families (on gasoline, home heating and electricity) through a direct annual consumer rebate to households.

So far, the government has promised rebates to about 60% of Albertans, particularly to those in the middle to lower-income bracket. Intended for implementation by 2017, the economy-wide carbon tax is set to have both provincial and national implications. There would be cash for an energy-efficiency program, for example, compensation for displaced coal workers, and funds for public transit and green technology research.

In two instances, the climate change panel’s report suggests the province’s royalty review panel will account for the additional costs of the carbon taxes when recommending how to change royalties charged to oil and gas companies in Alberta.

Large emitters will continue to be regulated based on their carbon emissions per barrel of oil, although those requirements will be more stringent. Mark Jaccard, an energy economist at Simon Fraser University, called it “a prudent mix of sound economics and real-world pragmatism that creates incentives for emissions reductions”.

“My caution to the Alberta government is I hope you get re-elected, because theres going to be a lot of lying about the carbon tax.”.

Trudeau also has invited the premiers and federal opposition leaders to join him in Paris, as the federal government promises to work with the provinces on a new national plan for tackling climate change.

“In Iowa, where coal generation provided 70% of MidAmerican Energy’s electricity generation as recently as 2000, 57% of their retail energy load could be powered by wind generation by the end of 2017”, said Thon. “And maybe some dried cowpies, too”.

Energy leaders had previously warned any onerous new costs would be disastrous for an industry under severe financial pressure.

Under former prime minister Stephen Harper, B.C.’s Clark said Canada tended to “talk about economic growth more than the environment on the worldwide stage”.

Alberta’s carbon tax is to reach $30 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions by 2018, and drivers and natural gas users will feel it starting next year.

Still, Suncor Energy Inc. chief executive Steve Williams, Shell Canada head Lorraine Mitchelmore, Cenovus Energy Inc.

Out of interest, below is a graphic from Canada’s CBC Calgary on the carbon profile of Alberta’s oilsands.

“We’ll demonstrate that we are serious about climate change”, Trudeau said following a four-hour working dinner with provincial and territorial leaders.