Carbon levy deadline extended
Premier says decision buys province time
The Alberta government came under fire from critics Wednesday after it quietly extended the deadline to renew its carbon levy on the province’s heaviest greenhouse gas emitters.
The move comes one day after auditor general Merwan Saher released a report slamming the government’s handling of its climate change strategy, a central component of which is the $15-per-tonne carbon levy.
The specified gas emitters regulation had been up for renewal Sept 1, but an order by Environment Minister Robin Campbell during a cabinet meeting this week extended the deadline to Dec. 31, 2014.
Premier Dave Hancock said the extension buys the province time to continue discussions on a North American climate change strategy.
“It’s very difficult for Alberta to do anything more than we’re doing now, with respect to raising the costs for industry, without it being a continental approach,” Hancock said in an interview from Iqaluit, Nunavut, where he is attending the Western Premiers Conference.
Hancock said the province has heard concerns from industry about the impact the levy has on investment and cost margins, adding he is waiting to see whether the results of the November U.S. mid-term elections lead to a shift in policy from Washington.
The regulation places a levy on 12 per cent of a company’s emissions.
The price on carbon is a central component of the province’s climate change strategy, which aimed to re- duce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 megatonnes per year by 2020.
The government admitted in 2012 it is on track to miss those targets by a considerable margin, and Saher’s report castigated the government for failing to monitor and report on the strategy’s results.
Liberal environment critic Laurie Blakeman said the province’s climate change strategy has achieved nothing and the extension only delays fixing that.
“It’s a mess. It’s a leaderless, rudderless mess,” Blakeman said. “I think our strategy’s been very weak and I think it’s because the government is trying to deliver what they think the oil and gas sector wants.”
The province’s renewed climate change strategy will be released this fall, but a spokesman for Campbell wouldn’t say whether a carbon levy will still play a part in the policy.
Earlier this week, Campbell told the Herald the province is still consulting with Ottawa as it revamps Alberta’s climate change plan — and the Harper government looks at establishing long-awaited federal regulations overseeing the energy industry.
“I’d like to be ready sometime this fall to move ahead with something, but again, it’s important that we work with the federal government. I don’t think either one of us want to be out of step with each other,” he said in an interview Monday.
Although there’s been speculation the province will increase the carbon levy on heavy emitters — possibly doubling it to $24 a tonne—Campbell said there is not a consensus within government that Alberta needs to hike the price of carbon.
“I don’t know so much if the tax has to come up, or we have to look at renewable energy. There are a number of different avenues out there that we can move forward on,” he said.
“I think there’s a number of things we can do that will help bring down our greenhouse gas emissions without penalizing industry.”
Simon Dyer, with the Pembina Institute, said the province must increase the price on carbon if it wants to take greenhouse gas reduction seriously.
“The government’s already invested a lot of work in this, as we understand, and we don’t see any reason to delay.”