A government-appointed panel has taken aim at Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s climate-change policy, arguing that Ottawa should move now to impose emission rules on industry rather than wait to harmonize with the Americans.
The Harper government has proceeded cautiously on climate change, delaying several times any measures that could drive up costs for industry, such as the oil sands. The panel insists the time for delay on enacting emissions regulations is over.
In a report that was quickly applauded by government critics, the National Roundtable on the Environment and Economy said that, given the uncertainty over American environmental policy, the Harper government should act unilaterally and then co-ordinate Ottawa’s policies with the U.S. at a later date.
The roundtable – Conservative appointees from industry, former Tory politicians and a union member – was created to advise government on sustainable development practices that would boost the economy while preserving the environment.
The panel is calling for a national cap-and-trade system that would essentially set a price on carbon by auctioning permits for greenhouse-gas emissions, and allow industry to buy and sell those permits and other credits.
“We need to understand how we can meet our environmental responsibilities as a sovereign state and a global actor, fully comprehending the unique economic ties we enjoy on this continent,” roundtable chair Robert Page said Tuesday.
Liberal and New Democratic Party MPs jumped on the report to hammer the Harper government for failing to move more aggressively on climate policy.
“What they’re basically saying here is, ‘You can’t hide behind harmonization,’ ” Liberal environmental critic Gerard Kennedy said. “There are no excuses for inaction now.”
The panel argues Canada would enhance its economic competitiveness by regulating now and avoiding more expensive actions later.
Both governments have committed to reducing greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions by 17 per cent below 2005 levels by the year 2020. But it will be more expensive for Canada to reduce its emissions than it will for the United States, in part because of the rapidly growing contribution from the oil sands.
A critic of climate-change science when he was opposition leader, Mr. Harper has rejected the more aggressive commitments under the Kyoto Protocol and has instead sought to harmonize Canada’s ambition and policies with those of Barack Obama’s administration.
However, the U.S. President faces a major challenge from Republicans and conservative Democrats who oppose climate legislation and are seeking to block the Environmental Protection Agency from imposing emissions regulations on major industrial polluters.
In an interview from Washington, D.C., Environment Minister Peter Kent insisted the government is prepared to introduce regulations that will allow Canada to meet its targets. The newly installed Environment Minister was “doing the rounds” in Washington, including a meeting with EPA director Lisa Jackson.
“We’re not waiting for the Americans,” Mr. Kent said. “We’re working steadily forward but this isn’t a linear process.”
The minister said the federal government will regulate industrial emitters, including the oil sector, and expects to unveil its plans “later this year.”
The national roundtable said a cap-and-trade system would provide industry with more flexibility than a strict regulated approach, and would reduce the overall cost to the country.
It recommended that the government impose a “modest” cap on industrial emissions from sectors such as the oil sands, in order to give companies some certainty in their planning. The maximum price would be $30 per tonne of carbon dioxide, which would represent a couple dollars per barrel on oil-sands production.
Mr. Page said a $30-per-tonne price would encourage the oil industry to invest in efficiency improvements and deploy new emission-reduction technology that is “on the drawing board.”
Still, even if it adopted all the roundtable’s policy advice, the government would not be on track to meet its 2020 target. Its recommendations would result in emissions cuts of 3 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020; without such action, the level would be 10 per cent higher than 2005 levels.
The panel commended the government for moving ahead with proposed regulations that would eventually force utilities to replace traditional coal-fired plants with cleaner options, though that policy will have little impact until the end of this decade, at the earliest.
In lockstep with the Americans, Ottawa has also introduced new emissions regulations on automobiles and is moving on trucks, ships and airplanes.
