A dragon sits on a hilled landscape, polluting factories to its left and clean technologies to its right

China’s sprawling approach to climate policy

Climate and Energy

It is indisputable that getting global emissions under control requires getting China’s emissions under control. So what is China doing about it? Not only is the nation of 1.4 billion getting serious about climate change, its policy approach often resembles Canada’s. The details warrant careful unpacking. Here is the present and future of China’s climate […]

Without climate policy, “innovation” is just a buzzword

Technology and Innovation

Lately we’ve seen argument after argument after argument for using “technology” and “innovation” as fixes for climate change. But reducing greenhouse gas emissions requires specific types of innovation. Without broad incentives that signal the value of low- or zero-carbon technologies, we’ll get more of what led us to this point. Ironically, carbon pricing opponents are […]

The coalition government in British Columbia released its own newly-minted CleanBC strategy

Ramping up: Ambitious climate policy returns to British Columbia

Climate and Energy

It’s been a pivotal few weeks for provincial climate policy. Ontario released its new climate strategy last week, scaling back provincial targets and replacing its cap-and-trade system with a mix of regulations, subsidies, and a pricing system for heavy emitters. Yesterday, the coalition government in British Columbia released its own newly-minted CleanBC strategy. Happy holidays, […]

Dick Lipsey, green growth, no growth,

Growth in the Developed Countries: Do we need it and can we sustain it?

Technology and Innovation

The Ecofiscal Commission believes that our economies can continue to grow, even as we improve the environment by polluting less and using our natural resources more efficiently. We recognize that this position rubs up against a live and interesting debate often characterized as “growth vs no growth”. While the Ecofiscal Commission’s work does not address […]

Richard Lipsey picture - carbon pricing

How carbon pricing can spur innovation & cleaner economic growth

Climate and Energy Technology and Innovation

By Richard Lipsey Humans are inventive creatures. Throughout history, whenever we’re presented with a challenge, we’ve invented our way around it. Carbon pricing is the perfect example of a business challenge. When we put a tax on fossil fuels or create a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, it increases the cost of doing business. And […]

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