Canada must adopt carbon tax, cap and trade system: report
OTTAWA (AFP) - Canada must introduce a carbon tax, or a cap and trade system for greenhouse gas emissions, or both, if there is any hope of the country deeply cutting its CO2 emissions by mid-century, a report commissioned by the government said Monday.
And Canada must act now or face higher costs in the future for reducing CO2 output linked to global warming, said the report by the independent National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE).
“These findings and recommendations are the first in Canada to set out scenarios and conclusions as to the most effective way to achieve deep, long-term greenhouse gas and air pollutant emission reductions related to specific targets at a national level,” said NRTEE chair Glen Murray.
At the request of Canada’s environment minister in 2006, the group explored how Canada might reduce emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and up to 70 percent by 2050 from current levels.
Its key recommendation is to establish an economy-wide “price signal” for carbon emissions as soon as possible.
A carbon-trading system sets a cap on the amount of pollutants companies can emit and then forces heavy polluters to buy credits from companies that pollute less – penalizing polluters and rewarding those who cut back on emissions.
A carbon tax would be added to the price consumers pay for home heating fuel or gasoline for automobiles.
The proposal would put a heavier burden on Canada’s booming oil and gas industry, requiring them to pay almost half of the related costs, but Murray suggested these could be offset with grants to develop cleaner technologies.
Overall, the report’s authors said, there would be no significant impact on Canada’s gross domestic product if their plan is adopted.
And energy prices are spiking regardless, so it should not be difficult for politicians to convince voters to embrace the plan, said Murray, a former mayor of Winnipeg.
However, “if countries do not move in concert and Canada imposes deep limits on emissions, there will be more pronounced competitiveness impacts leading to profitability reductions,” noted the report.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and main opposition Liberal leader Stephane Dion have already said they would not adopt a carbon tax.
“That is something this government will never do,” Harper said in 2006.
“I’ve always been against it,” echoed Dion last year.
And Canada must act now or face higher costs in the future for reducing CO2 output linked to global warming, said the report by the independent National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE).
“These findings and recommendations are the first in Canada to set out scenarios and conclusions as to the most effective way to achieve deep, long-term greenhouse gas and air pollutant emission reductions related to specific targets at a national level,” said NRTEE chair Glen Murray.
At the request of Canada’s environment minister in 2006, the group explored how Canada might reduce emissions by 20 percent by 2020 and up to 70 percent by 2050 from current levels.
Its key recommendation is to establish an economy-wide “price signal” for carbon emissions as soon as possible.
A carbon-trading system sets a cap on the amount of pollutants companies can emit and then forces heavy polluters to buy credits from companies that pollute less – penalizing polluters and rewarding those who cut back on emissions.
A carbon tax would be added to the price consumers pay for home heating fuel or gasoline for automobiles.
The proposal would put a heavier burden on Canada’s booming oil and gas industry, requiring them to pay almost half of the related costs, but Murray suggested these could be offset with grants to develop cleaner technologies.
Overall, the report’s authors said, there would be no significant impact on Canada’s gross domestic product if their plan is adopted.
And energy prices are spiking regardless, so it should not be difficult for politicians to convince voters to embrace the plan, said Murray, a former mayor of Winnipeg.
However, “if countries do not move in concert and Canada imposes deep limits on emissions, there will be more pronounced competitiveness impacts leading to profitability reductions,” noted the report.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper and main opposition Liberal leader Stephane Dion have already said they would not adopt a carbon tax.
“That is something this government will never do,” Harper said in 2006.
“I’ve always been against it,” echoed Dion last year.
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