Climate plan works, NDP says: greenhouse gas emissions down, revenues top $1.8B

Less than half of Alberta’s electricity came from coal power in 2018, contributing to a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, says the province.

It’s the equivalent of taking 1.5 million cars off the road, with emissions dropping by seven megatonnes, or 16 per cent, in the sector compared to 2017.

Postmedia requested data from the province about its flagship climate leadership plan, including how emissions have changed since it was introduced in 2015.

At the time, the province didn’t set out emission targets. A federal government report estimated that Alberta was tracking toward producing 313 megatonnes of greenhouse gas emissions annually by 2030.

Now that number is closer to 263 megatonnes, said the province, marking a projected 50-megatonne reduction, equivalent to 11 million fewer cars on the road.

“Even that stabilization of our emissions in the context of a growing economy is something to be celebrated,” said Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips in an interview Tuesday. “It’s actually extraordinary.

“The overall emissions reductions is like eliminating the emissions of Metro Vancouver three times over.”

The plan included putting a price on greenhouse gas emissions, ending pollution from coal-fired generated electricity by 2030, capping oilsands emissions and reducing methane emissions.

Phillips said results in the electricity sector have been impressive. Within a year, coal generation has fallen from 59 per cent of all power produced in Alberta to 47 per cent. Power from burning natural gas has risen from 31 per cent to 42 per cent, while solar power has also seen an uptick.

The province also said it collected more than $1.8 billion in revenue during the first two years of the plan, which has been reinvested in a slew of programs. That refers to revenue from the carbon tax on households and businesses ($1.3 billion), with the remainder coming from large emitters.

In 2016-18, a total of $463 million of that went into rebates.

The revenue has been used for transportation projects, school infrastructure and solar programs, among other investments.

In total, the province has put $3 billion into light rail transit over 10 years, including into Calgary’s Green Line and Edmonton’s West Valley Line.

The UCP has repeatedly slammed the carbon tax, saying that it’s a job-killing program. Leader Jason Kenney has said a UCP government would repeal the tax.

“Overseeing the economic decline of Alberta — as the NDP has done — is not a viable environmental or economic strategy,” said UCP spokeswoman Christine Myatt in a statement Tuesday.

“Every single postal code in this province has benefited in some way from those investments. Projects are small, medium and large, and it’s thousands of jobs,” Phillips said.

The benefits, though, are at risk if Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s federal carbon pricing plan is imposed on Alberta, Phillips said.

“Quite frankly, they designed it with Ontario in mind.”

On Wednesday, the Saskatchewan court case challenging the federal plan begins. Premier Scott Moe brought forward the case which will determine whether the carbon tax is constitutional.