MEDIA RELEASE: Climate Group Officially Launches Carbon Pricing Petition #e2542 on World Environment Day

Climate Group Officially Launches Carbon Pricing Petition #e2542
on World Environment Day

For Immediate Release: June 4, 2020

SUDBURY, ON – This week is Environment Week in Canada, and Friday, June 5 is World Environment Day. Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) Canada has launched a parliamentary e-petition #e2542, sponsored by Marc Serré, Member of Parliament for Nickel Belt, calling upon the Canadian Parliament to improve the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. 

 World-leading climate scientist Dr. James Hansen is a strong advocate for Canada’s carbon pricing policy,  “Canada can lead the world toward solving the climate crisis if Canada will simply make its carbon dividend transparent by issuing it as a bank or debit card deposit or a cheque,” he says. “Only with such transparency will the public allow the price of fossil fuels to rise as is needed to phase out fossil fuels.”

Here is the wording of the e-petition:

Whereas:

• Canada has a national carbon pricing policy, legislating all provinces and territories to set a minimum and rising carbon fee—an important step to help Canada in its transition to clean energy
• In those provinces and territories where the federal backstop applies, we receive “Climate Action Incentives” through Line 45110 in our tax returns, and 80% of us come out ahead;
• Canada’s federal backstop carbon pricing policy is similar to the carbon fee-and-dividend solution, as recommended by 27 Nobel Prize-winning economists, climate scientist Dr. James Hansen, and Citizens’ Climate Lobby;
• Canada’s carbon price will increase to $50 per tonne in 2022, but that will not be enough to meet Canada’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 30% below 2005 levels by 2030
• Modelling by Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission shows that Canada must increase the price of carbon to $210 per tonne by 2030 to meet Canada’s current greenhouse gas emission target
• Unless the rebates that voters receive are readily apparent as a cheque or bank deposit (rather than an income tax adjustment), an increase in carbon price to $210 per tonne or more will not be acceptable to many voters
• We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to steadily increase the carbon price to $210 per tonne or more by 2030, and to distribute the carbon pricing revenue to Canadians as cheques or bank deposits.

Parliamentary e-petition #e2542 can be found here:
https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-2542 

The public’s support is vital and we encourage everyone to sign the petition:

First: login / sign up at the government website
Second: sign the Petition.
Third: click the confirmation email no-reply@petitions.parl.gc.ca 

“There can be no climate justice unless there is racial justice. The COVID crisis, income inequality, and the climate crisis are disproportionately impacting racialized communities,” says Cathy Orlando, National Director of Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada. “For almost a decade we have been advocating for a fee on carbon pollution with cash refunded back to the people because it is internationally recognized as an effective way to reduce emissions. Thankfully and happily, as a positive side effect, it also reduces income inequality.”

MEDIA CONTACT
Cathy Orlando, National Director Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada,
Mobile: (705) 929-4043,
email: cathy@citizensclimatelobby.org

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