“This is the day we step up, at long last, to one of the world’s biggest problems – the pollution that is causing climate change”, Rachel Notley, the premier of the western Canadian province, said at the announcement in Alberta’s capital, Edmonton.
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Notley’s left-leaning New Democratic Party took power earlier this year, ending 44 years of Conservative rule. “Wind energy can also ensure that greenhouse gas emission reductions in electricity generation are sustainable and long-term and can contribute to the creation of a low carbon electricity grid that can ultimately help reduce emissions in other sectors of the economy”.
Before Trudeau and the premiers went behind closed doors, they were treated to a presentation from climate scientists, meant to persuade Canadians of the seriousness of the climate change crisis and to demonstrate that the Trudeau government is determined to craft public policy based on evidence, not politics.
President Obama and environmental groups have characterized Alberta crude oil as dirty, a point Notley addressed in her speech.
The first ministers will meet again in the next three months to conclude a national climate strategy that will include a national target and a program of action.
Notley credited the recent rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have carried oil sands petroleum from Alberta to the United States’s Gulf Coast, with her government’s drive to move forward on climate.
Moreover, having Alberta, the primary oil-producing province, on side in the fight against climate change “is going to tell the world that we really are doing a lot”, Clark added.
As for the carbon tax, it will start at $20 per tonne in January 2017 and increase to $30 the following year.
Officials in the Canadian province of Alberta announced plans over the weekend to levy taxes on carbon dioxide emissions and implement an overall cap on emissions from its vast oil reserves.
Alberta’s new climate plan seeks to limit future tar sands production in the province, setting an annual limit for carbon pollution from the tar sands at 100 megatons.
The Wildrose is portraying the NDP plan as a $3-billion tax grab, with individual households paying at least $600 more a year in higher direct home heating and gasoline costs.
“It doesn’t include electricity and it doesn’t include the carbon tax on the price of everything else, as businesses pass along to their consumers, Albertans will be hit hard by this tax on everything”, Jean said.
Unlike some GHG emission reduction plans that give methane a pass, Alberta’s new climate framework does not leave methane on the sidelines. Coal plants provide nearly 40% of the province’s installed power capacity, according to Alberta Energy.
“Today we are making history, with Alberta taking its rightful place as a leader on the world stage”, said Ed Whittingham, executive director of the Pembina Institute, a think tank.
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Greenpeace Canada called the government’s plan an “historic moment for climate activism” but noted that more work needed to be done to curb climate change.
