The federally-appointed National Round Table on Environment and Economy has issued an important new report, Achieving 2050: a Carbon Pricing Policy for Canada. According to the NTREE:
it is urgent to act decisively, even in the face of current economic turbulence and evolving climate science.
Calling for changes much more drastic than in the Dion Liberals’ unpopular green shift plan, NTREE reinforces its earlier advice that immediate, country-wide carbon pricing will be far less expensive for Canada over the medium to long term than our current, fragmented inaction.
A nationally integrated carbon pricing policy is required… At the core is an economy-wide cap-and-trade system to price carbon and provide real market incentives for firms and households in Canada to change their technology choices and behaviour…Complementary regulations and technology policies are then needed to improve the cost-effectiveness of the cap-and-trade system by broadening coverage across all key emission sources, while supporting targeted technology development and deployment. Participation in international emissions markets through trading and credit purchases will help reduce economic costs … Finally, a climate governance and implementation strategy is needed to establish new, collaborative institutions and coordinating processes to implement and adapt the carbon pricing policy over time, making sure it sends a clear and certain price signal to industry and consumers, while remaining responsive to new information and situations.
The US is going to have a cap and trade program. Do we really have no better policy than to wait and see what they do?