Shucks
Alberta is greenest it's ever been under the NDP and that will be tough to undo
6 months into carbon plan, Alberta's changes look made to last, no matter what party governs province
Alberta's NDP government hasn't wasted much time in bringing its climate change policies into effect.
In the past six months, Albertans have started to pay a carbon tax on gasoline and home heating and they have been eligible for subsidies on LED light bulbs, insulation, windows and solar panels. The coal phase-out has been negotiated, and an auction is underway to bring more renewable power to the province.
The provincial government has been galloping through the implementation of its plan, almost as though there is a deadline to hit. Which there may well be.
There's a fair bit of political turmoil in the province at the moment, with the right of centre opposition parties, Wildrose and the Progressive Conservatives, considering a merger. They split the conservative vote in 2015 and have a common desire to kill the carbon tax.
But can they? Or is Alberta simply too far along the road already? Let's figure that out.
Carbon tax
The current $20 per tonne carbon tax is the most visible of Alberta's climate policies. It amounts to about five cents a litre on gasoline and $1 a gigajoule on natural gas home heating, with subsidies offered to lower-income Albertans. Both those taxes are set to rise in January 2018, as the carbon tax rises to $30 per tonne.
On the surface, it would be relatively easy to kill the provincial carbon tax, if a new government were to be elected in the spring of 2019. However, that's not a permanent fix, because it's expected that the federal government also will have implemented a tax by then. In the spring of 2019, the federal tax would be $20 per tonne, moving up to $30 per tonne in 2020.
"In the case of carbon pricing, there is a strong federal backstop," said Sara Hastings-Simon of the Pembina Institute, a Calgary-based environmental think-tank.
"So the real choice in the province is between designing and implementing a carbon pricing policy that is designed with Alberta in mind and would address Alberta's competitiveness, or having the federal government impose something on you."
Industry is facing a slightly different set of rules. Large GHG emitters will also pay a $30 per tonne tax beginning in 2018, and will be offered subsidies based on the energy efficiency of their operations. The goal is to ensure they remain competitive with the rest of the world.
That means that companies like Cenovus, with relatively low emissions per barrel produced, would make gains from the tax, while less efficient companies pay more, according to Trevor Tombe, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Calgary.
Tombe points out the industry carbon tax has not been as controversial as the consumer tax.
"It's something where you don't hear a lot of opposition among opposition parties," he said
Oilsands emissions cap
A pillar of Premier Rachel Notley's climate change plan is a cap on oilsands emissions, which critics argue could stifle future growth.
The 100 megatonne limit is still at least a decade away and has a mix of supporters and opponents in the oilpatch.
Recently, an oilsands advisory group recommended the government publish annual data on oilsands emissions and eventually levy fines if the emissions limit is ever breached.
Of all the carbon policies of the NDP, this seems the easiest to wipe out.
"It's just a policy that exists on paper, and to the extent that it even exists on paper is very, very vague," said Tombe. "It would be extremely easy to get rid of with the stroke of a pen and it would have almost no consequence whatsoever."
However, if a new government removes the cap, there could be a risk to the oilsands' reputation.
"It doesn't help industry to be seen as a laggard on the environment, and what helps industry is to have certainty about planning for the future," said Hastings-Simon with the Pembina Institute.
Alberta is greenest it's ever been under the NDP and that will be tough to undo - Business - CBC News
Alberta is greenest it's ever been under the NDP and that will be tough to undo
6 months into carbon plan, Alberta's changes look made to last, no matter what party governs province
Alberta's NDP government hasn't wasted much time in bringing its climate change policies into effect.
In the past six months, Albertans have started to pay a carbon tax on gasoline and home heating and they have been eligible for subsidies on LED light bulbs, insulation, windows and solar panels. The coal phase-out has been negotiated, and an auction is underway to bring more renewable power to the province.
The provincial government has been galloping through the implementation of its plan, almost as though there is a deadline to hit. Which there may well be.
There's a fair bit of political turmoil in the province at the moment, with the right of centre opposition parties, Wildrose and the Progressive Conservatives, considering a merger. They split the conservative vote in 2015 and have a common desire to kill the carbon tax.
But can they? Or is Alberta simply too far along the road already? Let's figure that out.
Carbon tax
The current $20 per tonne carbon tax is the most visible of Alberta's climate policies. It amounts to about five cents a litre on gasoline and $1 a gigajoule on natural gas home heating, with subsidies offered to lower-income Albertans. Both those taxes are set to rise in January 2018, as the carbon tax rises to $30 per tonne.
On the surface, it would be relatively easy to kill the provincial carbon tax, if a new government were to be elected in the spring of 2019. However, that's not a permanent fix, because it's expected that the federal government also will have implemented a tax by then. In the spring of 2019, the federal tax would be $20 per tonne, moving up to $30 per tonne in 2020.
"In the case of carbon pricing, there is a strong federal backstop," said Sara Hastings-Simon of the Pembina Institute, a Calgary-based environmental think-tank.
"So the real choice in the province is between designing and implementing a carbon pricing policy that is designed with Alberta in mind and would address Alberta's competitiveness, or having the federal government impose something on you."
Industry is facing a slightly different set of rules. Large GHG emitters will also pay a $30 per tonne tax beginning in 2018, and will be offered subsidies based on the energy efficiency of their operations. The goal is to ensure they remain competitive with the rest of the world.
That means that companies like Cenovus, with relatively low emissions per barrel produced, would make gains from the tax, while less efficient companies pay more, according to Trevor Tombe, an assistant professor of economics at the University of Calgary.
Tombe points out the industry carbon tax has not been as controversial as the consumer tax.
"It's something where you don't hear a lot of opposition among opposition parties," he said
Oilsands emissions cap
A pillar of Premier Rachel Notley's climate change plan is a cap on oilsands emissions, which critics argue could stifle future growth.
The 100 megatonne limit is still at least a decade away and has a mix of supporters and opponents in the oilpatch.
Recently, an oilsands advisory group recommended the government publish annual data on oilsands emissions and eventually levy fines if the emissions limit is ever breached.
Of all the carbon policies of the NDP, this seems the easiest to wipe out.
"It's just a policy that exists on paper, and to the extent that it even exists on paper is very, very vague," said Tombe. "It would be extremely easy to get rid of with the stroke of a pen and it would have almost no consequence whatsoever."
However, if a new government removes the cap, there could be a risk to the oilsands' reputation.
"It doesn't help industry to be seen as a laggard on the environment, and what helps industry is to have certainty about planning for the future," said Hastings-Simon with the Pembina Institute.
Alberta is greenest it's ever been under the NDP and that will be tough to undo - Business - CBC News
