Discussion/background information: Putting a price on carbon can be an effective method to reduce carbon emissions. Tackling climate change must involve reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, that build up in the atmosphere and cause climate change and global warming. Science shows that the world, Canada included, needs to reduce carbon dioxide emissions dramatically between now and 2020. The most effective policy to reduce emissions quickly is a price on carbon dioxide emissions, either through a significant carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system that has absolute limits on emissions; i.e., a hard cap, or a combination of both tools. Placing a price on carbon emissions using a carbon tax and/or cap-and-trade system creates an economic driver to spur increased efficiency, investment in cleaner energy technologies and greener practices, and technological innovation. These economic tools not only help the development of new clean energy solutions but ensure that new green technologies are put into use. Because Canada doesn’t have a significant price on carbon emissions, we haven’t experienced a dramatic increase in clean energy and transportation options potentially available to consumers or business that citizens in many other countries are already benefiting from. In implementing this policy, it is crucial to ensure that a price on carbon is applied broadly across the economy, so that it addresses nearly all emissions from industry, from other businesses, and from households. As such, a carbon tax and/or a cap-and-trade system must be applied to carbon emissions from industry, as these make up about half of Canada’s carbon dioxide emissions, but they should also cover emissions from transportation and home heating. The important element is that the vast majority of carbon emission sources are covered by a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system or both. Questions for candidates:
1. Does your political party support a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade system with hard caps, or both? If not, why not? If so, will your party have a price on carbon in place in 2009? 2. Will your political party ensure that most or all carbon emission sources are subject to a carbon tax and/or cap-and-trade system? If not, how does your party justify leaving out important sources, thus making the policy less effective? 3: What would be the level of the carbon tax and what emissions reductions would be anticipated from this tax or, in the case of a cap-and-trade system, how quickly will emissions (i.e., the cap) be reduced? 4: Will a portion of the revenue from a carbon tax (or auctioned permits under a cap-and-trade system) be used to further reduce carbon dioxide emissions from other sectors?
For more information:
Pricing Carbon (David Suzuki Foundation)
Carbon Tax Cap and Trade Briefing (PDF) BACK TO ISSUE SHEETS |