Reducing emissions costs less than inaction

CALGARY — Monica Curtis, Senior Director of Communities and Decarbonization at the Pembina Institute, made the following statement in response to today’s news release and sharing of data by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

“Evaluating the impact of investments in emission reductions, including carbon pricing, benefits from transparent data, which includes a recognition of the cost of doing nothing.  The costs of inaction will be, over the long term, far greater than the cost of reducing emissions.  

“Climate change costs are already starting to impose noticeable burdens on households. Extreme weather increases the cost of living in the form of higher grocery bills when supply chains are disrupted, and the rising incidence of infrastructure and property damage comes with heavy repair and clean-up costs and higher insurance premiums.  

“The principles of carbon pricing are sound, incentivizing shifts toward emissions reductions. Carbon pricing is one of several tools currently available that helps Canada make progress on climate commitments. Taken together, these tools can effectively address affordability, business competitiveness, and economic and environmental performance indicators. 

“Consumer carbon pricing is most effective in conjunction with investments in other measures that enable consumers to reduce emissions, such as heat pumps for home heating and cooling, deep retrofits to make residential and commercial properties more efficient, and zero-emission vehicles. These policies, and more, need to be further developed, especially by provincial governments. Consumers need more alternatives to high-emitting buildings and transportation systems—and we need to make those alternatives more accessible and affordable.

“Industrial carbon pricing is also an effective market-based tool, and one that has been taken up by the federal government and several provinces. High emitters now have a price mechanism that over time disincentivizes ongoing pollution and drives emissions reductions.

“Today’s sharing of carbon pricing data by Environment and Climate Change Canada is a welcome contribution to the conversation about how Canada can reduce carbon emissions and support long term affordability.”