Citizens’ Climate Lobby Manitoba Urges Provincial Government to stand firm on Climate Action 

Citizens’ Climate Lobby Manitoba Urges Provincial Government to stand firm on Climate Action

For immediate release: March 29, 2024

Recent announcements from the Manitoba Government indicate that they are exploring options to remove Manitoba from the Federal Carbon Pricing Backstop program. Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada is a volunteer group that lobbies for a liveable world. Its Manitoba members note that carbon pricing has proven instrumental in curbing emissions while maintaining economic viability. Since the inception of federal carbon pricing in 2019, Canada has witnessed a notable decrease of almost 8 percent in GHG emissions, with projections indicating that carbon pricing will contribute substantially to emissions reductions by 2030.

Evidence from the Bank of Canada indicates that carbon pricing has a negligible impact on overall inflation. Factors such as disruptions from climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions have primarily influenced inflation rates. Moreover, the majority of carbon-pricing revenues are rebated to households, ensuring that most Canadians are economically unburdened by the policy.

The combination of carbon pricing and rebates provides a dual incentive for emission reduction while safeguarding households’ purchasing power. By rewarding emission reduction efforts with rebates, the policy encourages environmentally conscious behavior without unduly burdening consumers.

Canada’s carbon pricing framework is designed to promote emission reduction without compromising business competitiveness. Through an output-based pricing system, industries are incentivized to adopt low-carbon practices while remaining economically viable in the global marketplace.

While alternatives exist, carbon pricing remains the most cost-effective means of reducing emissions and fostering green innovation. Abandoning carbon pricing would entail higher costs and require the provincial government to come up with a program that has similar results.  This will take at least 3 years. “With increasing numbers of negative climate events we cannot afford to go without a major part of an emissions reduction plan” says Lori Bohn, co-chair of the Winnipeg chapter of CCL. Her co-chair Virginia Cail adds “we will support any climate plan that helps us get to a livable world”.

Media contacts: Lori Bohn lkbohn@shaw.ca 204-654-3837, Co-chair of Winnipeg chapter, Citizens Climate Lobby Canada; and CCL Winnipeg member Riley Bestvater rbestvater@gmail.com