“Fundamental here should be carbon pricing … but how you get it should be left entirely to the initiative of the provinces”, Couillard said.
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Alberta’s government also plans to legislate an overall emission limit of 100 megatons for the oil sands, which now generate 70 megatons of carbon a year. Husky Energy Inc said it would continue to work constructively with the province.
The plan includes a carbon tax that the NDP government estimates will cost an average family about $500 a year by 2018 and about $960 by 2030. He rejected it after seven years of review.
“We will work with the government as these principles are put into practice, and we encourage the province to follow a balanced approach, recognizing that our sector can only become a global supplier of responsibly produced oil and natural gas if we are competitive on the world stage”.
“Alberta just leapfrogged the Government of Canada on climate ambition, and Prime Minister Trudeau should use this announcement to move forward a plan to truly meet our obligations to a 2ºC world”, Cameron Fenton, Canadian tar sands organizer with 350.org, said following the announcement. “Used in power generation, it emits about half the carbon dioxide compared to coal and could virtually eliminate emissions of smog-causing pollutants”, McMillan said.
They are pledging to make a change to alternative sources of energy, where two-thirds of the province’s power would eventually be provided by renewable energy sources such as wind power and natural gas.
He was also less glowing than other premiers about Alberta’s plan, remarking only that it “removes an excuse” used by a few critics who have objected to pipelines because western provinces weren’t doing enough to combat climate change.
The oil sands are often criticized by environmental groups since the industry requires vast amounts of energy and water for production, exceeding pollution from more conventional sources of oil.
“Canada is one of the world’s principal energy producers”, Notley told the crowd.
Kudos were not universal, however.
“It was an historic moment, a strong positive step in the right direction”, Trudeau said in opening remarks.
The government said the “unprecedented” oil-sands emissions cap is supported by executives in that industry and will help “change the debate” about the province’s most important export.
Starting in 2017, Alberta will apply a $20-a-tonne price on carbon emissions that will cover about 90 per cent of the economy, including essentials such as gasoline and home heating fuel.
“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.
Earlier Monday as they arrived for the meeting, premiers expressed optimism that the advent of new leadership in Ottawa and Alberta will allow Canada to shed its global reputation as an environmental pariah during the Paris summit.
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Though that requirement will result in additional costs for the industry, Leach said he took “some comfort” in the report compiled by Notley’s climate change review panel. This unity is a departure from the past.
