Basic economics: when the price of something rises, demand falls and people look for alternatives that cost less. For carbon pricing in Canada, the Pan Canadian Framework calls for a minimum price of $10 per tonne of carbon dioxide in 2018, rising to $50 per tonne in 2022 with no commitment after that. In Ontario … Read more
Doug Ford, the new leader of the Ontario Provincial Conservative Party, is set to seriously undermine Canada’s effort to bring emissions from fossil fuels to a safe level. If elected Premier, Ford will repeal programs and policies enabling Ontario to assume its fair share of the necessary reduction. The Federal and Provincial Governments (except Saskatchewan) … Read more
Right after his election as leader of the Provincial Party, Doug Ford told Ontario voters that, if elected, the Tories will get rid of the cap and trade program aimed at reducing carbon emissions. And he would will not allow a carbon tax in its place. Ford can advance two reasons for his determination to … Read more
Two years ago, Michael Brown, then the leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, supported a revenue neutral tax on carbon. As of last October, the Tory platform promised to end the Liberals’ cap-and-trade program by July 1, 2019. In its place the party would opt in to federal carbon pricing bench marks and return … Read more
The Federal Government is once again re-assuring Canadians that economic growth can be consistent with reduction of Canada’s GHG emissions. Canada accepted emission reduction targets when it ratified the Paris Agreement. The consensus of experts is that the Paris Agreement targets agreed to by all countries are unambitious. These targets will not limit global warming … Read more
Deciding which countries will successfully meet climate change goals is as difficult as choosing the winning horse before a race starts. There are too many variables to be certain of the outcome., So, just as in a horse race, an assessment of a country’s commitment to meet these goals requires a consideration of “the odds”, … Read more
Andrew Leach is s Professor at the University of Alberta School of Business and Chair of Alberta’s Climate Leadership Panel. He reacted strongly to criticisms by environmentalists of Justin Trudeau for shortcomings in Canada’s Climate Change Policy. To quote from a Leach article appearing in the April 25th edition of the Globe and Mail: “Should … Read more