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. And clean-coal technology being developed in Estevan, Sask., will increasingly play a critical role in reducing emissions globally. At a time when we need greenhouse-gas reduction solutions that don't damage the economy or drive up consumers' energy costs, Saskatchewan is leading the way.
Saskatchewan is committing significant public and private investments to carbon capture and storage technology. Our commitment to a large-scale clean-coal facility near Estevan by itself represents an investment of more than $1,200 for every man, woman and child. Fully operational, this project will capture one million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.
In Weyburn, meanwhile, the internationally renowned Weyburn-Midale project has already securely stored eight million tonnes of CO2 underground. Over its lifetime, this public-private collaboration, which includes Encana and Apache Energy, will store 30 million tonnes of carbon - the equivalent of taking 6½ million cars off the road in North America for an entire year.
This technology is real and viable. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says carbon capture and storage technology could reduce approximately half of total global emissions by 2050.
The Saskatchewan approach to greenhouse-gas reduction is focused on results. It's about reducing emissions before they reach the consumer and exploring options, such as nuclear power, that produce emission-free energy. Keep in mind, however, that 80 per cent of emissions from oil are released through consumption. In Canada, this means that more populous provinces such as Ontario, Quebec and B.C. also need to take action to not just offset, but actually cut emissions. On this score, Ontario should get much more credit than it does for its commitment to nuclear power.
Compare the approach being undertaken today in Saskatchewan with the proposed alternatives: a carbon tax or cap-and-trade systems.
I would argue, and I think most Canadians would agree, that reducing emissions from fossil fuel production before it reaches consumers is preferable to a carbon tax. Higher energy taxes that punish consumers and have only vague and questionable emission-reduction credentials seem on closer study to be far less the inevitable and obvious solution to greenhouse gases hailed in environmental debate.
Cap-and-trade systems suffer from the same efficacy and cost problems as a carbon tax - with even far greater unknowns. In a cap-and-trade system, emitters can exceed limits on emissions if they purchase offset credits. Despite the value of encouraging practices such as preserving forests or establishing soil sinks - two possible sources of offset credits - these practices have no direct impact whatsoever on reducing the carbon released through a process such as energy production. In fact, by allowing emitters to buy offset credits, dollars are actually directed away from technology, such as carbon capture and storage, that can reduce emissions at source of production.
The conceptual flaws with cap-and-trade systems are only part of the problem. Their potential unknowns pose equal concerns, including the end cost to people and economies. Surprisingly, some provinces and states have "signed up" to these systems without calculating the costs to households or businesses or their potential toll on an already unsteady North American economy. Regulatory consensus is another overlooked unknown, with agreement on the contentious issues of carbon pricing and targets likely to prove elusive in the decentralized federations of North America. Finally, even those who do believe continental cap and trade is inevitable acknowledge that it is up to three years or longer away from operation.
Notwithstanding U.S. campaign rhetoric, citizens on both sides of the border who are already tired of high energy costs, and who will be asked to pay even more because of cap and trade, may ask their politicians for something more than a plan that is as much about moving emissions around as it is about achieving reductions.
The good news is that we in Saskatchewan are not waiting to cut emissions. We are acting now with a significant public investment. The important work under way today in Saskatchewan affords us a significant opportunity as Canadians to credibly claim and build a reputation for international leadership in innovation, progressive energy policy and environmental sustainability.
