Canada Helps Wreck Climate Deal - December 16th 2007

WE NEED TO DO BETTER

At the Bali climate conference, Canada sided with the US and a few other spoilers to ensure the final agreement made no specific commitments to reduce greenhouse gases. Although Canada is a signee of the previous Kyoto agreement which did include targets, Canada has made no meaningful changes to its laws and regulations in order to meet those targets. Why is it that Canada is dragging its feet on this vital issue?

For those who would deny that there is a problem to solve, I’m afraid I would have to lump you in with the smokers and other drug addicts who think the risk to their own health and the health of others by their activities does no harm. You are no better than holocaust deniers and deserve no further serious consideration. There is no denying that pollution is a serious issue and even if you think that making Canadian winters a little warmer would be no bad thing, emissions still need to be reduced. If you think Calgary doesn’t have a pollution problem, just overlook the city from the west on a calm clear morning (Nose Hill and beside Highway 22X in the South West are good vantage points). You will see a brown haze of nitrogen dioxide floating over the city.  This is not good stuff to breathe and is caused by the unchecked burning of fossil fuels. If you can, do the same test on major European cities and you will not see the same levels of air pollution. Then, go to China and see if you want to breathe the filth they push into the atmosphere.

There are of course those who would say that Canada doesn’t have a problem because the millions of square miles of Canadian forest absorb more carbon dioxide than is emitted by its residents. That’s hardly a sustainable argument in the face of a global problem and instead, Canadians should be proud to be able to use their vast forests to help poor developing nations such as Bangladesh who have no such natural resources.

There are others who complain that the cost to Canadians will be too high and will make our goods and services unprofitable and hurt trade. Of course there will be costs and of course those costs need to be shared around the world. But, the plain fact is that on an individual basis, Canadians are the worst polluters in the world. As such, it is up to us to take the lead to show that significant reductions can be made and can be made without hurting that trade.

How can it be done? I think it’s very simple. The cost of energy in Canada is too low. Raising those costs by increasing taxation on natural gas and fuels derived from oils will ensure that Canadians take a more responsible view about the vehicles they drive and the standard of insulation in their houses and places of work. The increase needs to be phased in fairly slowly over five years or so in order that changes can be made gradually without unfairly penalizing those least able to help themselves. The overall taxation burden need not change so in exchange for paying more for fuels, GST can be eliminated and the lower levels of income tax reduced or also eliminated. Industry need not be unduly hurt and consumer prices need not rise significantly if the new fuel taxes are treated as GST is now and can be reclaimed as legitimate business expenses. The aim should be to double or preferably triple fuel costs over the next five years and continue increasing it after that.

There are other worthwhile schemes that need to be implemented as well, including a carbon trading system such as that pioneered in Europe to ensure that the worst polluters pay for their excesses and the efficient gain. This will ensure that corporate Canada becomes more focused on pollution as it will affect their profits and that the worst polluters will be forced out of business.

So, why is it so hard for Canada to do these few things? The risks are small and the benefits are potentially huge. Let’s go for it.

Comment by johnstevens on June 27th 2009

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