![\"graph99\"](\"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/graph99.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFigure 1: Nova Scotia\u2019s actual and preliminary emissions and the 2030 INDC target <\/strong><\/p>\n About half of the 7 Mt reduction can be attributed to a decline in emissions from the province\u2019s electricity supplier, Nova Scotia Power (NSP). Here\u2019s how those reductions break down:<\/p>\n In early 2015, the Canada-Nova Scotia Equivalency Agreement was signed, allowing Nova Scotia Power to continue operating its aging fleet of coal-fired thermal generating stations to meet Nova Scotia\u2019s demand for electricity. In exchange, NSP is required to meet a 2030 cap of 4.5 Mt.\u00a0 This means that by 2030, the company\u2019s total<\/em> emissions of 4.5 Mt will be considered equivalent to the federal per-facility<\/em> limit of 420 tonnes per gigawatt-hour.<\/p>\n (Despite the success of the emissions cap, the federal minister of environment and climate change, Catherine McKenna, has made no commitment to maintaining the equivalency agreement.)<\/p>\n The other half of Nova Scotia\u2019s 7 Mt reduction during this period was the result of a 23 percent decline in energy demand for most types of transportation, the closure of the province\u2019s oil refinery, and changes to the ways buildings are heated (for example, from fuel oil to natural gas or electricity).<\/p>\n The total reductions achieved are undoubtedly impressive. For example, per-capita emissions in Nova Scotia have fallen from 25 tonnes per person in 2005 to 17.6 tonnes per person in 2014. However, this has come at a price.<\/p>\n Electricity consumers have been subject to a demand side management tax to offset the cost of home-energy retrofits for low-income Nova Scotians and reduce the price of energy-efficient appliances. This, coupled with the costs of NSP switching from coal to natural gas and the institution of a feed-in tariff that pays producers a premium for electricity from renewables, has since 2005, contributed to a 62 percent rise in the cost of electricity for residential consumers.<\/p>\n Nova Scotians face the prospect of further rises in the cost of electricity prices as NSP increases its use of natural gas and connects to Muskrat Falls in Labrador in 2020 \u2013 the year it must show that 40 percent of its electricity comes from renewable sources.<\/p>\n The rising cost of electricity and other energy sources and the effects of the economic downturn in the first decade of this century have all contributed to the decline in Nova Scotia\u2019s emissions. The province\u2019s GDP grew 7.6 percent between 2005 and 2014 \u2013 the second lowest in the country (only New Brunswick\u2019s was lower at 3.6 percent) and less than half the national average.<\/p>\n Although the province does not have an official price on carbon, the rising cost of electricity and the stagnant economy are proving to be effective proxies.<\/p>\n Compounding this problem is the fall in oil prices. Albertan oil companies are laying off workers, including many from Nova Scotia who are no longer able to send remittances to their families in Nova Scotia. Moreover, the state of Nova Scotia\u2019s economy means that workers returning to Nova Scotia are having increasing difficulty finding employment.<\/p>\n While there has undoubtedly been a small increase in the number of workers in \u201cgreen\u201d industries, their numbers have fallen far short of what the provincial government and other groups had forecast and have failed to offset the increase in the province\u2019s unemployment rate.<\/p>\n Through a combination of accidents and design, Nova Scotia has already met the prime minister\u2019s 2030 reduction target. If NSP continues to exceed existing regulations, the province\u2019s emissions are expected to be about 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.<\/p>\n In light of what Nova Scotia has already achieved, it is possible to appreciate why Premier Stephen McNeil objects to the prime minister insisting that the province adopt carbon pricing.<\/p>\n Photo:\u00a0Mike Dembeck \/ The Canadian Press<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do you have something to say about the article you just read? Be part of the<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Policy Options\u00a0<\/em>discussion, and send in your own submission. Here is a<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>link<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>on how to do it. |\u00a0Souhaitez-vous r\u00e9agir \u00e0 cet article ? <\/em>Joignez-vous aux d\u00e9bats d\u2019<\/em>Options politiques\u00a0<\/em>et soumettez-nous votre texte en suivant ces<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>directives<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" One of Prime Minister Trudeau\u2019s many commitments at the COP21 climate conference held in Paris in December 2015 was to meet Canada\u2019s intended nationally determined contributions (INDC) emissions reduction target. The target, originally specified by the Harper government in May 2015, states that Canada plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":237306,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","ep_exclude_from_search":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"2025-10-08T01:18:25Z","apple_news_api_id":"bea0bcc6-7d40-48d3-b2ca-6b162f0bcb2b","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2025-10-08T01:18:25Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AvqC8xn1ASNOyymsWLwvLKw","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false},"categories":[9372,9383],"tags":[8739,8674],"article-status":[],"irpp-category":[4261,4337],"section":[],"irpp-tag":[],"class_list":["post-264429","issues","type-issues","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-recent-stories-fr","category-sciences-et-technologies","tag-climate","tag-environmental-assesment-fr","irpp-category-environnement","irpp-category-science-et-technologie"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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