Time to look beyond carbon pricing
It’s the most cost-effective approach, but it’s not the only one for Ontario
We need to stop fighting about carbon pricing. Cap-and-trade is gone. Also gone are $2 billion in annual proceeds — money to renovate schools and social housing, build bike lanes, and reduce the cost of insulation, energy efficient windows and electric cars. Which is too bad. But the Ontario government said that it will be developing a new plan to address climate change. We need to help ensure it’s effective.
Yes, economists agree that carbon pricing is the most cost-effective way to fight climate change. But it’s not necessarily the most effective way and it’s certainly not the only way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At the levels being contemplated in Canada right now, pricing alone will not be sufficient. Even at $50 per tonne, which is what the price will be in most provinces by 2022, a carbon price alone isn’t going to reduce our emissions enough to keep the pledge this country made in Paris, or to keep climate change from spinning dangerously out of control.
To be clear, we support carbon pricing. But we support other policies too — and in fact there isn’t a single jurisdiction in the world that is only putting a price on carbon and cutting emissions in line with what science tells us is necessary. Besides, we will still have a carbon price in Ontario — it will just be a price that the federal government implements rather than the province.
There are lots of things the Ontario government can do aside from carbon pricing. So let’s get on with developing a serious plan to fight climate change in Ontario.
Ontarians are calling for action, which is why more than 100 organizations have united under the banner of the Clean Economy Alliance to work on solutions to address the crucial issue of climate change — because we know that action is needed, and that it can be beneficial to Ontario.
Taking action on climate change will lead to cleaner air and better public health. It will lead to lower energy costs, more comfortable buildings, better transportation options, and new economic opportunities and jobs in clean technology, one of the fastest growing sectors of the global economy.
That’s why more than 60 organizations have written to Ontario’s Environment Minister, Rod Phillips, to tell him that we’re here to help Ontario develop an effective climate change plan to chart a path to reduce pollution.
These organizations represent a broad cross-section of Ontarians, including nurses, builders, architects, teachers, engineers, clean technology innovators, financiers, solar panel installers, doctors, steelworkers, and many more.
And we have the proof. Ontarians have joined the fight against climate change as investors through clean energy investment companies including CoPower. These investments provide financing to hundreds of solar and energy efficiency projects across the province, helping smaller developers expand their businesses and create jobs while building Ontario’s low carbon future.
Environmental Defence, CoPower, and many others signed on to the letter to Ontario’s Environment Minister because we support action on climate change. And we have ideas about what it is that Ontario can and should do. We want to be engaged. We’re offering our assistance.
Ontario needs a climate change plan that includes targeted actions to tackle the primary sources of carbon pollution: transportation, industry, and buildings. The plan must also include adequate funding for implementation, and transparency mechanisms to make sure Ontarians know how this funding will be spent.
Ontario has already taken big steps to decarbonize much of its electricity system. The next big steps are to decarbonize transportation and heating by reducing the amount of carbon in fuels, increasing energy efficiency, and shifting more cars, buses and buildings to electricity. Ontario also needs to support the modernization of this province’s industry to give them an edge in the low-carbon economy.
We share the government’s desire to see Ontario’s economy grow and thrive. And we share its conviction that climate change is real, caused by humans and must be addressed. The forest fires and floods experienced across Ontario this summer showed us a glimpse of what’s in store if we don’t act. We cannot afford to look away or shirk our responsibility.
Most importantly, we do not need to make a choice between a healthy environment and a strong economy. We need to choose both. Ontario needs an effective climate change plan to move us to a cleaner future.
Keith Brooks is Programs Director, Environmental Defence and Trish Nixon is Managing Director and Head of Capital, CoPower