The Climate Action Strategy was released on March 18th ahead of the 2015 federal election in Canada. It provides concrete policy direction to Canadian decision makers to decouple this country’s economy from carbon emissions. Chief among the list of ten policy orientations is putting a price on carbon – unanimously endorsed by all 70 contributors to the paper. The report asserts that Canada could eliminate 80% of its carbon emissions by 2050, avoiding the worst impacts of climate change, if decisive transformative action is taken.
Led by Caterin Potvin at McGill University, a group of 70 academics from every province in Canada collaborated on this policy document. In addition to calling on the federal government to institute a price on carbon, either through a carbon tax or a cap and trade system, the strategy calls for improved transmission infrastructure to enable freer movement of low-carbon electricity between provinces. The strategy also calls for a transformation of Canada’s transportation system, emphasizing active transportation, vehicle electrification and intercity rail. The full document can be view here.
The authors contend that Canada is in a significantly better position than most countries to decouple economic prosperity from carbon emissions given the vast potential for hydro-electric energy and other forms of renewable power in this country. The principle barrier is not technological nor is it economic; it is political will.