Carbon tax protection sought

B.C. has an advantage over most other jurisdictions in that the overwhelming source of the province’s electricity is carbon-free hydro power.

But there’s a catch: B.C. is also the only jurisdiction with a carbon tax that doesn’t also offer exporters in mining, energy and forestry — known as emissions-intensive trade exposed (EITE) producers — some sort of scheme to offset that tax, Greg D’Avignon, president and CEO of the Business Council of B.C., said Tuesday. It means B.C. producers face higher costs than out-of-province and international competitors.

“B.C., at 97 per cent clean electricity, is the envy of the world,” D’Avignon said.

But the rest of the world helps shield its high-emissions exporters from the full effect of carbon taxes, he added. The business council began working on a plan to take advantage of the province’s low-carbon advantage two years ago, consulting with the provincial government and 50 experts from leading industries, infrastructure projects and other groups.

Details were released Tuesday. D’Avignon said the business council isn’t asking for the carbon tax to be eliminated but that without protection for EITE exporters the province’s low-carbon advantage disappears and you wind up with carbon leakage: Commodities are supplied from elsewhere, to the detriment of the B.C. economy, but also, because greenhouse gases don’t recognize borders, to the detriment of the climate, air, water, forests and crops.