Premiers hopeful Canada can shed global image as environmental pariah

Trudeau wants to signal to the global community that Canada is finally taking the climate change challenge seriously – a task made much easier Sunday when Alberta Premier Rachel Notley unveiled…

Oil and gas producers in Alberta had expressed concerns about the rapid policy shift in recent weeks.

“Premier Notley’s new plan for Alberta is a real and vital contribution to that effort”. The panel describes job growth areas-such as transit and renewable energy-and for sectors with negative growth, it recommends using carbon pricing revenue for training and transition programs.

Alberta’s government announced plans to introduce an economy-wide tax on carbon emissions, starting in 2017 with a $20-per-ton tax.

She cited the province’s 2008 carbon tax that has been lauded by institutions such as the World Bank.

The Trudeau government has decided not to come up with a new national target before heading to COP21, working instead with the target by the previous Conservative government that was to reduce emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and then gather the premiers again within 90 days of Paris to figure out a new one.

Historically, Alberta has been resistant to climate action, but “this policy really catches it up in a big way”, said Swift.

“A price on carbon provides an incentive for everyone to reduce greenhouse gas pollution that causes climate change”, said the Alberta government.

Elements of cap and trade and carbon tax regimes are used, depending on the type of GHG emissions, which fall into two basic groups: emissions from large industrial emitters and end-use emissions.

What do people think of the plan?

Several major oil companies, including Suncor Energy, Cenovus Energy, Canadian Natural Resources and the Canadian division of Royal Dutch Shell endorsed the government proposal to set a cap that would still allow overall oil sands emissions to grow by about 40 percent.

“This is a strong, positive step in the right direction”. It’s the first such meeting between the prime minister and the leaders of the provinces since 2009, although it’s unclear what sort of tangible plan will emerge from it before they head, as a group, to Paris.

“There is no ideal policy, but I think this is probably the most balanced, most well thought-out policy that I’ve seen…”

It called for the funds raised by the policy to cycle back to the industry.

The new carbon tax is expected to raise $3-billion annually by 2018, but the government will not be cutting any provincial taxes. “How will the oil sands with its increasing footprint (at least as planned) offset the improvements they make in other areas?”

Anthony Swift similarly told InsideClimate News “the devil is in the details” and raised concern about how the oil sands carbon tax will work.

“As we are meeting, there are literally tens of thousands of Canadians who have been laid off of their jobs in (the oil and gas) sector”, Wall said.

Notley’s plan also includes imposition of a carbon tax and phasing out coal-fired power plants.

Notley said the gathering of first ministers has launched a new era of co-operation between the provinces and federal government, and highlighted a significant change of tone and substance with Trudeau’s Liberal government.