Alberta announces new climate change policy

“This is the day we do our part”.

He’ll then attend the United Nations climate change conference in Paris for its November 30 start.

Earlier this year, the New Democratic Party took power after 44-years of Conservative rule.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a private audience Wednesday with the Queen at Buckingham Palace – decades after meeting her when he was a young child – with the PM recalling she was “much taller” than him the last time they met.

Additionally, there’s been increasing pressure to halt oil sands production for climate reasons. The plan will cap oilsands emissions, phase out coal-fired electricity plants, and move to more enviro-friendly fuel sources over the next 15 years. Introducing a carbon tax in tax-phobic Alberta may be risky, but if the NDP’s political opposition remains fractured and broken that may not matter.

It’s the second foreign mission for Trudeau in a couple of weeks, having just returned from the G20 Summit in Turkey and an APEC meeting in the Philippines. However, the government has indicated that it will work with the Alberta Utilities Commission and the Alberta Electric System Operator (“AESO”), as well as appoint a facilitator to implement the plan, including potentially determining “fair compensation”.

“Our goal is to become one of the world’s most progressive and forward looking energy producers”, she told the 250 students on hand in the gym.

“Some provinces said one thing, the federal government said another. In many respects this is a wonderful development”.

Albertas proposed carbon tax wont be a job-killer, say some of Canadas top energy economists, but it wont be cheap either. The report recommends an increase from 2017’s $20 per ton to $100 per ton in 2030.

He pinpointed two “carbon basins” – oil sands in Canada and the Galilee Basin in Australia, where two Indian conglomerates are looking to dig mines – as regions whose assets will not be needed.

The oil sands sector now generates roughly 70 megatonnes of carbon a year. But current emissions-reduction pledges by countries headed to Paris would result in warming of between 2.7 degrees and 3.5 degrees.

The carbon tax will help pay for the transition.

Who came up with this plan? The implementation of the new methane standards will be led by the Alberta Energy Regulator, in collaboration with Alberta Energy and Alberta Environment and Parks. Shortly after taking office in May, Notley ordered the creation of a commission to devise climate policy recommendations before the global climate talks. It’s tempting to stretch the football metaphor here: Edmonton, the seat of the provincial government and the University of Alberta, beating down an energy industry headquartered in Calgary.

Liberal spokeswoman Kate Purchase also confirmed to The Sun that the new government won’t change the policy. We will all need to do a lot more to fulfill Canada’s obligations in the fight against climate change.

“We’re talking about recycling (the money) to most households”. Once such policies are in place in other jurisdictions, Alberta can do the same without sacrificing Canada’s prosperity due to carbon leakage.

“There really aren’t that many Albertans who will be hit hard in the pocketbook”, said Notley.

Whatever the provinces want to do on carbon pricing is okay by Trudeau. The effects could continue for hundreds of years since greenhouse gases are long lived and the oceans are warming.

It said this plan was endorsed by several major oil companies, including Suncor Energy, Cenovus, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd and the Canadian division of Royal Dutch Shell Plc. “Her Majesty has been an important part of Canada’s history and I’m confident will remain an important part of our continued progress and our future”.

“In Paris, a united Canada will demonstrate that we are serious about climate change”, Trudeau told reporters late Monday.

It called for the funds raised by the policy to cycle back to the industry. “This is a very bold step by the government of Alberta …”

But why he’s doing this is a mystery because it makes no sense. The province will offer incentives to encourage renewable generation capacity. Oil sands facilities are now charged a SGER levy based on each individual facility’s historical emissions.

What we witnessed Sunday in Alberta falls into another category of leadership altogether.