Canada, provinces to present united front at Paris climate talks

“We need to do our part”.

The first ministers ended their first formal meeting in almost seven years professing a united front as they prepare for next week’s opening of a United Nations climate summit in Paris. She has guaranteed that the many global leaders and investors assembled in Paris next week will be newly receptive to Alberta – and Canada’s – interests.

These are the same oilsands, of course, that were to have supplied the 850,000 barrel per day Keystone XL pipeline from Alberta to Texas – a highly controversial project that US President Barack Obama scuppered, when he announced earlier this month that it “would not serve the national interest of the United States”. In June, more than 100 North American scientists posted an open letter to the government asking for a moratorium on production.

CEO Brian Ferguson and even Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. chairman Murray Edwards, who had been among the sharpest critics of the NDP’s economic policies, stood with Ms. Notley and environmental groups to endorse the moves.

“The Alberta plan represents an entirely different mindset”.

The tax in Alberta will level the field between fossil fuels and renewable energy. The new agenda enables gas to fill at least one-third of the gap left by coal and sets a goal for “renewable” wind- and solar-power stations to take two-thirds, to the extent that they can compete using as-yet unspecified government assistance.

As for the carbon tax, it will start at $20 per tonne in January 2017 and increase to $30 the following year.

What does the strategy mean for the oil sands sector?

The Wildrose leader thinks support for the strategy from oilsands companies is simple relief. Currently, the annual emissions are 70 megatons.

The province expects to collect about $3 billion per year from the tax as of 2018, with hikes in power and electricity bills and in the cost of gas at the pumps. Shortly after taking office in May, Notley ordered the creation of a commission to devise climate policy recommendations before the global climate talks.

The Canadian Association of Oilwell Drilling Contractors cautioned the climate policy could imperil Alberta’s competitiveness, unless it’s offset by lower royalties – something the province is also reviewing. Previous Progressive Conservative governments in Alberta sought to shield the dominant industry from costly emission limits.

The provincial premier agreed in her policy announcement statement.

Four of Canada’s largest oil sands producers have come together to demonstrate leadership on climate change.

Is there more to this story?

How does Alberta’s strategy stack up with the other Canadian provinces? “It enables Alberta to be a leader, not only in climate policy, but also in technology, innovation, collaborative solutions and energy development”.

“More renewable energy in Alberta will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, clean the air, and produce significant new investment and jobs – particularly in rural areas of the province”.

Interestingly, the news is being welcomed not only by environmentalists like Greenpeace, but by representatives of the tar sands producers too. The plan cycles this money back to residents through rebates and other grants instead of a tax cut. “This is a very bold step by the government of Alberta …”

Backed by prominent representatives from industry and the environmental movement, Premier Rachel Notley says the province is trying to do the right thing for the future.

“It draws a lot of parallels from the carbon tax that is already levied in British Columbia”, says McInerney.

“If this is a truly revenue neutral tax, every dollar raised through new carbon taxes should be made available to industry in order to reinvest into new technology to achieve emission reductions”.