With Alberta’s new plan added to measures already taken to curb carbon emissions in B.C., Ontario and Quebec, Couillard added that nearly 80 per cent of Canadians are now living in jurisdictions that have imposed a price on carbon.
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Greg Flato, a senior research scientist with Environment Canada, wouldn’t comment on what policy changes the government should adopt, but he said a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is needed to stabilize temperatures.
So while Rachel Notley’s new plan is great and well received and a nice middle ground, expect the last pat on her back to come from the $36.1 billion Imperial Oil company.
“Our country needs a serious effort in rebranding on this theme of climate change and energy”, he said. Emissions are now around 70 million metric tons, according to the Alberta government meaning the cap allows for a few industry growth.
Canada will be heading to the UN-sponsored summit with a limited national strategy and carbon rules that vary widely between provinces.
Alberta’s plan includes cuts to methane emissions and an expansion of renewable energy and gas-fired generation.
She said the provincial government is committed to creating renewable sources of energy while still staying on track to eliminate the deficit by 2017-18. So when the New Democratic Party took power in a surprise victory earlier this year, environmentalists hoped it signaled a turning point for Canada’s largest oil-producing province.
“Alberta is leading again”, Ms. Notley told a room of supporters at Edmonton’s science centre.
“Premier Notley promised Albertans leadership on the issue of climate change and she and her government have delivered”. But the industry itself has been battered in recent months by a slew of government rejections – from Keystone XL to oil tanker traffic in British Columbia – and thousands of lost jobs due to the falling price of oil.
Despite the regulatory shake-up, industry representatives offered support.
“It enables Alberta to be a leader, not only in climate policy, but also in technology, innovation, collaborative solutions and energy development”, said Brian Ferguson, chief executive of oil sands producer Cenovus Energy Inc.
Alberta will also introduce an economy-wide carbon tax of 20 Canadian dollars per ton on carbon-dioxide emissions starting in 2017, increasing to 30 Canadian dollars per ton the year after – a price hike estimated to be slightly less than 2 cents per gallon of gasoline.
Incentives to have almost one-third of power generated from renewables such as wind and solar by 2030.
A methane reduction strategy to address methane emissions in the oil and gas sector.
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Canada’s environmental record has for almost a decade been crippled by the policies of recently ousted Prime Minister Stephen Harper. “Until now, the mentality of the (previous) Alberta government was that someone else should worry about our children and climate, that their only responsibility was to maximize tax revenues, corporate profits and short-term jobs”, said Mark Jaccard, the lead author of the June oil sands letter and a professor at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver. Emissions from the oil sands industry, considered by a few to be one of the more potent polluters, will be capped at 100 megatons.
