{"id":264470,"date":"2016-10-21T19:31:10","date_gmt":"2016-10-21T23:31:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/issues\/why-canadians-shouldnt-fear-carbon-pricing\/"},"modified":"2025-10-07T21:19:33","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T01:19:33","slug":"why-canadians-shouldnt-fear-carbon-pricing","status":"publish","type":"issues","link":"https:\/\/policyoptions.irpp.org\/fr\/2016\/10\/why-canadians-shouldnt-fear-carbon-pricing\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Canadians shouldn’t fear carbon pricing"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s been two weeks since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood in the House of Commons and\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0that we\u2019re going to have a price on carbon across Canada.<\/p>\n

And I have to admit: it\u2019s still sinking in. After a decade of polarized debate, we finally have a federal government willing to adopt what is arguably the most effective climate policy around.<\/p>\n

The federal plan is a\u00a0big step forward<\/a>: the government chose a smart, straightforward\u00a0approach<\/a>\u00a0that builds on the carbon pricing systems that several provinces built over the past decade while Ottawa sat on the sidelines.<\/p>\n

Around the world, carbon pricing is the new normal, with 7 of the world\u2019s 10 biggest economies having at least some form of carbon pricing in effect today.<\/p>\n

But the last two weeks have also shown that, unsurprisingly, the debate isn\u2019t over quite yet. A number of myths and misperceptions \u2014 some classics, but some brand new \u2014 have emerged in response to Ottawa\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n

So here\u2019s our fact check in response to three myths and a misperception about Ottawa\u2019s carbon pricing plan:<\/p>\n

Myth 1: Carbon pricing will \u201c<\/strong>disproportionately hurt<\/strong><\/a>\u201d resource economies like Saskatchewan\u2019s.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fortunately for Saskatchewan, the federal plan leaves the design of carbon pricing systems up to individual provinces and territories. There are plenty of smart\u00a0policy design options<\/a>\u00a0available to\u00a0Saskatchewan<\/a>, or to any other jurisdiction, that preserve the incentive to cut pollution while protecting vulnerable sectors (or, importantly, vulnerable citizens such as low-income Canadians who can\u2019t afford additional costs).<\/p>\n

Saskatchewan needs to look no further than its neighbour to the west to see\u00a0how this can be done<\/a>. Alberta\u2019s climate leadership panel, led by economist Andrew Leach, crafted an\u00a0effective carbon pricing proposal<\/a>\u00a0that took full account of the potential impacts on the province\u2019s resource sectors and proposed measures to manage those impacts.<\/p>\n

Moreover, despite some\u00a0federal-provincial drama<\/a>, Ottawa\u2019s plan is far from radical. Around the world, carbon pricing is the new normal, with\u00a07 of the world\u2019s 10 biggest economies<\/a>\u00a0having at least some form of carbon pricing in effect today.<\/p>\n

One very prominent global example helps put Canada\u2019s effort in context: in 2017, China will move from regional carbon pricing pilot programs to a\u00a0national system<\/a>. And a year later, thanks to the prime minister\u2019s announcement, Canada will catch up.<\/p>\n

If the world\u2019s biggest carbon polluter (and also, not coincidentally, the world\u2019s biggest\u00a0clean energy investor<\/a>) can adopt a national carbon price, Canada\u2019s provinces should have nothing to fear.<\/p>\n

Myth 2: Trudeau used a \u201c<\/strong>sledge hammer<\/strong><\/a>\u201d on provinces.<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not the word I\u2019d use to describe Trudeau\u2019s announcement. But whatever you want to call it, I\u2019m glad the prime minister opened the tool box to make this happen.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve spent too long in Canada letting the slowest movers set the pace on climate action. If this country is going to seize the opportunity offered by the global clean energy market, we need to take our cues from the leaders, not the laggards.<\/p>\n

Ottawa\u2019s plan will get all provinces and territories moving on carbon pricing by 2018. And after a couple of years of scheduled increases, it will also push today\u2019s leaders to do more. And despite some\u00a0sabre-rattling<\/a>\u00a0in response to Ottawa\u2019s announcement, the federal government\u2019s approach appears to fall\u00a0well within its legal authority<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The new federal plan will cut Canada\u2019s emissions by 18 million tonnes \u2014 equivalent to taking nearly four million cars off the road for a year \u2014 by 2030.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not just me who welcomes some federal leadership on carbon pricing.\u00a0Recent polling<\/a>\u00a0by Nanos Research found that<\/p>\n