The B.C. government should strengthen its carbon
tax in the 2010 budget, according to a set of recommendations released by the
Pembina Institute today.
If adopted, the
recommendations will ensure more investment, innovation and job creation in
low-carbon businesses, while achieving greater greenhouse gas emissions
reductions, says the Institute.
"B.C.
has shown leadership in moving toward a low-carbon economy by implementing
North America's most ambitious carbon tax, but it's important to continue to
strengthen the tax so it is as fair and effective as possible," says Matt
Horne, director of B.C. Energy Solutions for Pembina.
"Broadening
the carbon tax's coverage and continuing to increase protection for low-income
families should be the top priorities for 2010," Horne says.
When
asked to comment on Pembina's recommendations, Dr. Mark Jaccard, a professor at
Simon Fraser University and lead policy analyst with the Global Energy
Assessment and the IPCC, said, "These recommendations are crucial if B.C. is to
continue to advance its economically efficient and highly effective climate
policies."
Recommendation: Broaden the carbon tax to
cover 80 per cent of B.C.'s greenhouse gas emissions by including process (i.e.
not from combustion) emissions from the aluminum, lime, cement and natural gas
sectors. The
change would increase coverage by seven per cent.
Why: Applying the carbon tax
more broadly will spur emissions reductions from more sectors of the economy,
while eliminating the concern that the tax is not applied equally to industrial
emitters.
Recommendation: Continue to increase
protection for low-income families.
Why: By expanding low-income
tax credits and/or targeting emissions reduction efforts toward low-income
families, concerns that the carbon tax is adversely impacting low-income
families will be alleviated.
Recommendation: Increase carbon tax
above $30 per tonne after 2012.
Why: To equitably contribute
to a global effort to avoid dangerous climate change, carbon prices in Canada
need to reach $200 per tonne by 2020. To be approaching those levels, B.C.'s
carbon tax needs to increase by between $15 and $30 per tonne per year from 2013
to 2020.
Recommendation: Invest a portion of
carbon tax revenues in projects that will reduce emissions.
Why: By implementing
emissions reductions projects unlikely to happen without public investment
(such as public transit infrastructure), public support for the carbon tax will
increase.
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You
can download our three-page backgrounder, Building
a Low-Carbon Economy in B.C.: Opportunities to Strengthen the Carbon Tax,
from www.pembina.org/pub/1961
For more information
contact:
Matt
Horne
Director,
B.C. Energy Solutions
The
Pembina Institute
Tel:
604-874-8558 x 223
Cell:
778-235-1476
matth@pembina.org
Dr.
Mark Jaccard
Professor, School of Resource and
Environmental Management
Simon Fraser University
Tel:
778-782-4219
