The carbon tax is a sa国际传媒 success story that has earned the province a worldwide reputation for implementing an effective tool in the fight against climate change. The premier should overcome her hesitant support for the measure and remove the freeze on the carbon tax.
In announcing sa国际传媒鈥檚 Climate Leadership Plan on Friday, Christy Clark said she needs to balance the carbon tax with her obligation to protect the economy, jobs and affordability for families. She seems to be echoing fears expressed when sa国际传媒 implemented the carbon tax. Critics said it would kill jobs and dampen the economy, but experience has shown otherwise. sa国际传媒鈥檚 economy has out-performed that of other provinces since the tax was implemented.
While other jurisdictions have made vague and unrealized promises about reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, sa国际传媒 walked the talk. When the carbon tax was implemented on all forms of fossil fuels in 2008, it was set at $10 a tonne for greenhouse-gas emissions. That added 2.4 cents to a litre of gasoline. The tax was increased annually, rising to $30 a tonne 鈥� about seven cents for a litre of gasoline 鈥� in 2012 when the rate was frozen.
When the Gordon Campbell government made the carbon tax law, it promised it would be revenue-neutral, not the cash grab some critics feared. And that promise has been kept 鈥� the tax has been more than offset by cuts in other taxes. And fossil-fuel use in sa国际传媒 declined by 14 per cent between 2008 and 2014, even as it rose three per cent in the rest of sa国际传媒.
sa国际传媒 has proved that environmental measures can be good for the economy, earning praise from such entities as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Bank and The Economist.
Climate change can seem an overwhelming issue: Yes, it鈥檚 a major problem, but what can I, one person, do about it? When you pay the carbon tax at the pump or on your natural-gas bill, you鈥檙e doing something about it. You can choose to burn less fuel. It鈥檚 a regular reminder to be alert for ways to reduce greenhouse-emissions.
The province鈥檚 new climate-leadership plan contains some commendable steps, including an 鈥渁mbitious鈥� tree-replanting plan, new energy-efficiency standards for gas-fired boilers, making electric vehicles more affordable, improving the energy efficiency of buildings and making sa国际传媒鈥檚 electricity 100 per cent renewable.
But Clark has rejected calls by her own climate-leadership team to increase the carbon tax steadily to meet the province鈥檚 greenhouse-gas emission targets by 2050, saying she was unable to support the recommendation to increase the tax by $10 per tonne a year beginning in 2018.
She said sa国际传媒鈥檚 carbon tax is already far ahead of other provinces, and she would consider increasing the tax only as 鈥渙ther provinces catch up.鈥� But that鈥檚 leadership for you 鈥� it usually means being ahead of the pack. It鈥檚 not a bad thing to stay there.
Climate change is upon us, and it鈥檚 like a ship that takes a long time to stop. If we put off making necessary changes, our children and grandchildren will pay the price.
Clark has never liked raising taxes (MSP premiums and hydro rates notwithstanding), and so she is probably steering a careful course toward the next election. Perhaps she should be steering a more cautious course into the future.
