Ontario set for first cap-and-trade auction
Ontario’s cap-and-trade system aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions begins in earnest Wednesday with its first auction, which other provinces said they will be watching closely as they consider their own carbon pricing plans.
The provincial Liberal government hopes the auction — held every three months — will bring in $1.9 billion a year, or $8 billion by the end of 2020, to be invested in programs that reduce emissions and help businesses and consumers adapt to a low-carbon economy.
Under the plan, businesses will have limits — or caps — on the amount of pollution they can emit. Companies that exceed those limits, which will be reduced each year, can buy permits or allowances through auctions or from other companies that come in under their limits.
The cap-and-trade system, which came into effect Jan. 1, added 4.3 cents per litre to the price of gasoline and about $80 a year to natural gas home heating costs, in addition to indirect costs that will be passed onto consumers.
The Opposition Progressive Conservatives have been critical of those added costs and party leader Patrick Brown said Tuesday he would instead bring in a “revenue negative” carbon tax, with which any increased costs to consumers would be more than offset by tax cuts.
https://www.thestar.com/business/ec...trade-auction-as-provinces-watch-closely.html
Ontario’s cap-and-trade system aimed at lowering greenhouse gas emissions begins in earnest Wednesday with its first auction, which other provinces said they will be watching closely as they consider their own carbon pricing plans.
The provincial Liberal government hopes the auction — held every three months — will bring in $1.9 billion a year, or $8 billion by the end of 2020, to be invested in programs that reduce emissions and help businesses and consumers adapt to a low-carbon economy.
Under the plan, businesses will have limits — or caps — on the amount of pollution they can emit. Companies that exceed those limits, which will be reduced each year, can buy permits or allowances through auctions or from other companies that come in under their limits.
The cap-and-trade system, which came into effect Jan. 1, added 4.3 cents per litre to the price of gasoline and about $80 a year to natural gas home heating costs, in addition to indirect costs that will be passed onto consumers.
The Opposition Progressive Conservatives have been critical of those added costs and party leader Patrick Brown said Tuesday he would instead bring in a “revenue negative” carbon tax, with which any increased costs to consumers would be more than offset by tax cuts.
https://www.thestar.com/business/ec...trade-auction-as-provinces-watch-closely.html
