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Canadian leaders split over greenhouse gas emissions
The leaders of Canada’s 10 provinces and three territories ended a three-day conference deeply divided over attempts to set absolute reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and start a national carbon-trading program.
They ran into a brick wall set up by Alberta, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia — three petroleum producing provinces — who oppose the “cap and trade” approach which involves across-the-board reductions in GHGs, while allowing higher polluting industries to buy credits from those that operate below established limits.
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach — who entered the conference telling his peers: “Don’t mess with Alberta” — wanted no part of that proposal.
He said carbon trading would only result in money being moved out of Alberta without any net reduction in Canada’s GHGs.
Newfoundland’s Danny Williams objected to acting with “undue haste and hurting the economy down the road.”
He said the premiers should not try to “save the world on the back of Alberta,” which accounts for 80 percent of Canada’s hydrocarbon output, while Yukon Premier Denis Fentie noted that, effective July 1, Alberta is imposing a C$15 per metric ton penalty on its 100 largest polluters who emit more than 100,000 metric tons of GHGs annually.
Twelve agree on tougher auto emissions Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty who was the leading advocate of “hard-caps” on GHGs, found himself in the minority when 12 of the leaders agreed to enact tougher emission standards on automobiles.
McGuinty feared that would hike vehicle costs by C$1,000 to C$3.000, harming his province’s most important industry, which provides direct and indirect employment for 326,000.
“It’s easy for my 12 colleagues to say they’re going to look at a sector that doesn’t affect their own particular jurisdiction,” he said.
“What I’m saying is that what we should have in place is a national reduction plan for greenhouse gases emitted by all Canadian industry in all provinces.”
McGuinty estimated the “cap and trade” system would reduce GHGs by 20 million metric tons by 2020.
Instead, he said the leaders left their conference having accomplished nothing, suggesting it is now up to the Canadian government to provide the financial support and incentives needed to make headway in lowering GHGs.
—Gary Park
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