Canada’s 13 premiers stood side-by-side behind Justin Trudeau as the prime minister reiterated his vow to bring that united front to Paris and prove Canada has changed its tune on climate change. On Monday, the association representing Canadian drilling contractors said the province should cut oil and gas royalties to offset the impact on its members of higher carbon fees. “We need to be mindful of that fact”. “We are pleased that the Liberal government has adopted the Conservative greenhouse gas emission reduction targets”, said Conservative environment critic Ed Fast. “But we’ll indicate the direction we’re taking and what we need to do in Manitoba to make a contribution”, he said.
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“This means making decisions based on science, it means reducing carbon emissions, including through carbon pricing towards a climate resilient economy”.
Trudeau flew in with his wife Sophie and children in a stopover visit on which he will meet Prime Minister David Cameron before he goes to Malta for a meeting of the Commonwealth heads of government later this week.
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 was a historic moment.
“I think that our plan will do a very good job in terms of changing the conversation about whether you can be an energy producer and also a responsible contributor to action on climate change”.
The industry is now pinning its hopes on rival proposals to funnel crude to Canada’s coasts, including TransCanada’s $12-billion (Canadian) Energy East project and Kinder Morgan Inc.’s $6.8-billion Trans Mountain expansion. “In this way, we will do our part to address climate change while protecting jobs and industry competitiveness in Alberta”.
Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said as the government develops its policy, it will work to ensure that the tax doesn’t have “detrimental economic effects”. “I think we also have an example to set to the world by showing how diverse actions across a big country like ours can come together and create one really bright picture for environmental protection and economic growth”.
Greg Clark, Alberta Party Leader, says he’s broadly in favour of the strategy, but wants to know how the billions will be spent and allocated.
In Paris, during his meeting with President François Hollande prior to COP 21, the Prime Minister will discuss the implementation of CETA, pressing global issues such as the situation in Syria and the migration crisis, and he will reiterate Canada’s priorities for the COP 21 climate conference in Paris.
Gregory Flato and Alain Bourque, two federal climate scientists, delivered a PowerPoint presentation to the first ministers and students on the file.
They were told global warming is “unequivocal” and is affecting Canadians across the country, including thawing permafrost in the North, melting of Artic sea ice and rising sea levels, eroding water quality, longer and more severe droughts and heat waves, larger number of wildfires, and crumbling infrastructure due to severe weather events. Emissions from heavy oil developments will be allowed to increase by 43 per cent before they are capped.
Carbon capture and storage technology, a process of pumping CO2 deep underground, is being pursued in provinces such as Alberta and Saskatchewan, and while promising, it is still being developed.
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“In Paris, a united Canada will demonstrate that we are serious about climate change”, Trudeau told reporters late Monday. In practice, however, the schemes are essentially reproductions of the same old tax policies that will yield the same results we’ve always had from taxation.
