Time to put a price on greenhouse gas emissions
"Greenhouse gases are treated today as though they can be produced and emitted without any cost. Green taxes should be introduced for industries and consumers to establish a visible price for carbon dioxide as a way of slowing the growth of - and then reducing - emissions," said Glen Hodgson, Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist. "A national GHG tax system should be designed to be fiscally neutral through cuts to other taxes."
The challenge, according to Use Green Taxes and Market Instruments to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, is to set an appropriate GHG emission or "green" tax that encourages producers and consumers to change their behaviour.
As a complement to green taxes, a "cap and trade" system should be implemented for major emitters. Green taxes should be rebated to emitters that use a "cap and trade" system. To help firms adjust, an environmental investment tax credit should be introduced.
A combination of green taxes, other market instruments and efficient regulation at a national level would be a significant step toward sustainability, and it would have the added benefit of strengthening Canada's leadership position in forthcoming international climate change negotiations.
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Switch from fossil fuels to electricity could cost $1.4 trillion, Canadian Gas Association warns
TORONTO - The Canadian Gas Association says building renewable electricity capacity to replace just half of Canada's current fossil fuel-generated energy could increase national costs by as much as $1.4 trillion over the next 30 years.
In a report, it contends that growing electricity's contribution to Canada's energy mix from its current 19 per cent to about 60 per cent will require an expansion from 141 gigawatts today to between 278 and 422 GW of renewable wind, solar and storage capacity by 2050.
It says that will increase national energy costs by between $580 billion and $1.4 trillion between 2020…
