Premier Christy Clark had her dancing shoes on as yet another 91裸聊视频渃limate change91裸聊视频� meeting ended in disarray in Vancouver last week.
91裸聊视频淭his is not the end,91裸聊视频� Clark assured reporters after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers emerged with no agreement on a national minimum carbon price. No kidding.
Trudeau declared victory by announcing the unanimous consent to a 91裸聊视频淰ancouver Declaration,91裸聊视频� which basically pays lip service to the concept of 91裸聊视频渃arbon pricing91裸聊视频� and kicks another grand federal election promise down the road.
[Vancouver Declaration . Its first promise is to "increase the level of ambition." No kidding.]
As the rest headed for jets waiting at Vancouver airport, Clark expressed the hope that the public would say 91裸聊视频渢hey got together and they made progress.91裸聊视频� Did they? Let91裸聊视频檚 take a look.
Going into the Whistler-Vancouver stop on Trudeau91裸聊视频檚 globe-trotting glamour tour, Clark correctly noted that it91裸聊视频檚 other provinces that need to make progress. B.C. has a clear price on carbon emissions; it91裸聊视频檚 been held at $30 a tonne since Clark succeeded its creator, Gordon Campbell.
Clark91裸聊视频檚 advice for other premiers is to follow Campbell91裸聊视频檚 example of a revenue-neutral carbon tax, offset by income tax reductions. You won91裸聊视频檛 build public support for a carbon tax that makes people poorer, she said.
Of course that91裸聊视频檚 what Alberta is doing, at a time when many residents are getting poorer already. Alberta91裸聊视频檚 NDP government plans to match the rate of B.C.91裸聊视频檚 carbon tax within two years and spend the proceeds.
Other premiers have more creative definitions for pricing carbon.
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil pointed to transmission lines and power purchases from the Muskrat Falls dam under construction in Labrador, to substitute hydro for coal-fired power. The highest electricity prices in Canada are their 91裸聊视频渃arbon pricing91裸聊视频� plan.
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall pointed to SaskPower91裸聊视频檚 Boundary Dam carbon capture and storage project. It is the world91裸聊视频檚 first coal-fired power station to capture carbon dioxide after combustion. The CO2 is sold to oilfield operators who inject it into declining wells to push more oil out, and the project intends to capture sulphur dioxide and fly ash to process and sell for other industrial uses.
Wall is the only Canadian leader to state a couple of inconvenient truths. The purpose of this exercise is to reduce carbon emissions, not to raise tax revenues. And now is the worst possible time to impose more taxes on the oil and gas industry.
Clark91裸聊视频檚 stand-pat strategy on the B.C. carbon tax is going to change this year, as positioning begins for the 2017 election. A B.C. government advisory panel has recommended a 33 per cent increase, conveniently starting in 2018, with annual increases after that.
The current seven-cent-per-litre carbon tax on gasoline sold in B.C. is hardly a deterrent these days, as pump prices have tumbled and could stay low for years to come. And with a fragile economy, it seems unlikely that a big boost in carbon taxes will find favour with voters a year from now.
The B.C. NDP is trying to rebuild its credibility on climate policy. NDP leader John Horgan tried to revise the party91裸聊视频檚 history, claiming in year-end interviews that the NDP didn91裸聊视频檛 oppose the carbon tax, only making it revenue neutral rather than spending the money on green initiatives, as Alberta wants to do.
Alas, the NDP91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频渁xe the tax91裸聊视频� campaign going into the 2009 election is a matter of record. The party91裸聊视频檚 election platform warned that Campbell91裸聊视频檚 plan 91裸聊视频渋ncreases taxes for average families by tripling the gas tax91裸聊视频� to its current level.
Last week the NDP issued a news release denouncing Clark for presiding over increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
Tom Fletcher is B.C. legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press. Email: tfletcher@blackpress.ca Twitter: @tomfletcherbc
