Media Release: Tuesday, October 4, 2016 Sudbury ON: On Monday, October 3, 2016 Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will establish a floor price on carbon pollution of $10 a tonne in 2018, rising to $50 a tonne by 2022. Provinces and territories will have flexibility in deciding how they implement carbon pricing: they can put a direct price on carbon pollution or they can adopt a cap-and-trade system. The Government of Canada will provide a pricing system for provinces and territories that do not adopt one of the two systems by 2018. The federal carbon price will be revenue neutral and will be returned to the provinces to use as they see fit. The federal Government will work with the territorial leaders to address their specific challenges. Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change said, “We are standing at the threshold of an incredible opportunity to build a strong and clean economy, one that will protect our environment and create opportunities for middle class families today and in the generations to come.” On that same day in the House of Commons, Conservative Member of Parliament for Wellington Halton Hills Michael Chong raised concerns about revenue neutrality, “By 2022, we are looking at $50 a tonne and 750 megatonnes and a cost of $38 billion a year. That is more than $1,000 per person in this country. For a typical family of four, we are looking at imposing about $4,000 in additional costs.” Further to that, Chong reminded the government, “To be clear, the House should know that the 30% target adopted by the government does not meet that election commitment to keep global warming to a two-degree limit.” NDP Environment Critic, Linda Duncan (MP Edmonton-Strathcona) and Green Party of Canada leader, Elizabeth May also shared concerns that Canada’s current greenhouse emissions targets are inadequate and don’t do our fair share to avoid climate disaster. ”Yesterday’s carbon pricing announcement for Canada was sooner and much better than I expected. It is certainly not enough to do our fair share to avert climate disaster. However, this is a giant leap forward. It opens a huge door for fact-based discussions about carbon pricing and marks a true beginning for the economic transformation we need. Our work on carbon pricing is not done yet in Canada. Gratefully, it has been made a lot easier with this announcement,” says Cathy Orlando, National Director of Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) in Canada. Since September 2010, CCL Canada has been creating the political will for a strong, revenue neutral and national price on carbon. We have had 1330 letters to the editor, opinion pieces, editorials and articles written by or about us. Since November 2011, we have lobbied collectively ten times on Parliament Hill and we will have our 3rd national conference and lobbying days November 26th to 29th, 2016. We have a dynamic Canadian website that includes French resources and up-to-date data on the myriad of issues connected to climate change. In 2016, our members in Canada have lobbied parliamentarians 102 times in face-to-face meetings. In the lead up to the federal election in 2015 we produced three public service announcements about carbon pricing that aired across Canada, including during the final game of the 2015 World Series of baseball. Two days after Justin Trudeau was elected Prime Minister in October 2015, a senator sent CCL Canada’s national director the following note, “You have done so much “ground work” that can now start to really pay off. I feel that the prospects for climate action are exceptional.” Citizens can help create the political will for a liveable world. They can join us in Ottawa November 26 – 29 when we will deepen our relationships with our MPs and continue to empower them to create stronger climate policies. As well, anyone in the world can send a direct email to all Canadian Premiers and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau by signing the following petition at Change.org asking for a strong and rising price on carbon pollution: ###############PM Trudeau’s National Carbon Price a Giant Leap Forward
National carbon price for Canada marks the beginning of the transformation we need
Contact: Cathy Orlando, cathy@citizensclimatelobby.org 705-929-4043
https://www.change.org/p/premiers-please-help-us-fight-global-warming
MEDIA RELEASE: PM Trudeau’s National Carbon Price a Giant Leap Forward
Posted on October 4, 2016 in Media Release
“Canada’s plans for a steadily-rising price on carbon is a major breakthrough in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mark Reynolds, executive director of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. “It provides the inspiration for the U.S. and other nations to follow Canada’s lead with similar action. After the historic Paris climate agreement, where nations made commitments to reduce emissions, the lingering question was how those reductions would be achieved. Canada has answered that question and provided a great example for the rest of the world.”
