Can we improve the efficiency of carbon pricing and regulations?

Climate and Energy

The release of our final report yesterday highlighted Canada’s options for bridging the gap to its 2030 targets. Bottom line? There are only a finite number of approaches. We have regulations, subsidies, and carbon pricing. But the details of how governments design and implement those policies matters just as much as the choice of approach. […]

Problematic new study overestimates effects of carbon pricing in Canada

Climate and Energy

Yesterday, the Conference Board of Canada released an analysis of the impacts of carbon pricing on Canadian industry called Tipping the Scales: Assessing carbon competitiveness and leakage potential for Canada’s EITEIs. The report explains and unpacks some key nuances around competitiveness and leakage. But shortcomings in its framing and methodology ultimately detract from its accuracy […]

Switching GHG accounting systems is not a solution

Climate and Energy

Is Canada’s greenhouse gas emission problem just an accounting issue? Is the GHG measurement system used by the UNFCCC fundamentally flawed, unfair to Canada, or both? Would switching systems make achieving our targets easier and solve concerns around emissions leakage? Short answer: not so much. The status quo: “territorial-based” GHG inventories Let me start by […]

Arguments for and against “supply-side” climate policies

Climate and Energy

Our April blog about supply-side climate policies generated some online discussion. Some comments focused on the bigger, global picture. Others focused on the nuts and bolts. In particular, we got questions about our “leakage” assertion—namely, that if Canada cut back its production of fossil fuels there would just be an offsetting increase elsewhere that more or […]

Why the Ecofiscal Commission is intervening in the carbon-pricing court case

Climate and Energy

This week, the Ecofiscal Commission will participate as an intervener in the Saskatchewan government’s court challenge of the federal carbon pricing policy. We will not be there to support the federal government; nor will we be there to support the Saskatchewan government. We’ll be there to support carbon pricing. We support carbon pricing for several […]

Pulp and paper mill with smoke, demonstrating Carbon pricing; Pan-Canadian Framework; stringency

Maintaining momentum: only additional emission reductions, please

Climate and Energy

Today, the federal government sent letters to its provincial counterparts laying out a timeline for implementing pan-Canadian carbon pricing. It lays out timing for federal legislation, for the provinces to demonstrate that their provincial policies are consistent with the federal standard, and for the federal backstop to kick in if they aren’t. Clearly laying out […]

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