Province’s emissions headed up, not down
Sask. Party insists that will change without imposing a tax on carbon
Saskatchewan’s carbon emissions are going up.
Premier Scott Moe, like his predecessor Brad Wall, continues to oppose putting a price on carbon, in spite of the federal government’s desire to put a cost on the pollutants.
In responding online earlier this week to federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna, Moe said on social media Saskatchewan “is reducing emissions without (a carbon tax).”
But by the province’s own admission, emissions in Saskatchewan will hit record-high levels in 2020 — more than 15 million tonnes of carbon dioxide — before they start going down.
SaskPower’s 2016-17 annual report, released last summer, states, “We will see our emissions profile rise slightly until 2020.”
Saskatchewan’s own climate change plan, known as Prairie Resilience, was released after that report came out, but according to SaskPower it does not change the rise in emissions.
Growing SaskPower’s generation capacity by way of more megawatts coming from natural gas is what will increase the province’s emissions, according to the Crown corporation.
“(The) Prairie Resilience Plan will not impact SaskPower’s plans to grow its generation capacity,” said a statement from spokesman Jordan Jackle.
SaskPower’s projections show emissions dropping to below 10 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030, due to an increased reliance on renewable energy sources, a reduction in electrical generation emissions and federally imposed methane regulations.
Last week, after Ottawa proposed legislation allowing it to roll out a federal carbon tax to impose on Saskatchewan, Moe told reporters, “Saskatchewan is making every effort to reduce our emissions. It is our province that will reduce our emissions by 11 per cent in the coming years.”
Saskatchewan’s emissions are projected to be 55 per cent higher by 2030 than 1990 levels, according to a report from the country’s auditors, but that same report — Perspectives on Climate Change Action in Canada, A Collaborative Report from Auditors General, March 2018 — shows the province’s emissions will drop 11 per cent between 2017 and 2030.
Jurisdictions with a carbon tax, or that are planning one, have varied projections between 2017 and 2030.
Alberta’s emissions are projected to go up three per cent between 2017 and 2030, using 1990 emissions levels as a baseline. By that same measure, B.C. emissions are expected to go down four per cent, Manitoba’s projected to stay the same and Ontario’s emissions show a two per cent drop.