While Conservative Environment Minister Peter Kent threatens Canadian jobs by refusing to act on carbon emissions, a future Liberal government will implement a carbon cap-and-trade system in order to build a cleaner, more prosperous Canadian economy, Liberal Environment Critic Gerard Kennedy said today.
“The government’s own panel on the environment and the economy is urging Peter Kent to stop stalling and introduce a cap-and-trade system to move Canada’s economy forward,” said Mr. Kennedy.
The report released by the Harper government-appointed National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy warns that delays to reduce climate emissions will cost the Canadian economy and consumers billions in higher energy costs.
“Canadians can see right through the Conservatives’ flimsy tactic of hiding behind the United States Congress for their failure to reduce emissions,” said Mr. Kennedy. “Canada must act to protect its own interests.”
A Liberal government will establish a cap-and-trade system. The Roundtable report calls for a national cap-and-trade system that would set a price on carbon by auctioning permits for greenhouse gas emissions, and allow industry to buy and sell those permits and other credits.
“The Harper government stands exposed by its own panel,” said Liberal Critic for Water Francis Scarpaleggia. “Under the Conservatives, Canada will not even come close to reaching its modest emission targets.”
A future Liberal government will create a cap-and-trade system that is both verifiable and binding, with hard caps that lead to absolute reductions. A Canadian cap-and-trade system must respect certain broad principles. It must:
- be equitable to all regions;
- emissions targets must not punish early-adopters who have already taken action to reduce emissions;
- cover all industries with no exceptions;
- be compatible with a U.S. cap-and-trade and other systems in the world; and
- put a price on carbon by permitting credits to be auctioned and traded in international markets.
“Even Canadian business is now offside with the Harper government on climate change. The Liberal Party believes now is the time to pull all sectors together to to reconcile our economy and our environment and build the jobs and competitive economy we need for tomorrow,” said Mr. Kennedy.
