Cap And Trade Case Study

For the last two decades, the increased use of fossil energy caused the environmental problems. The evidence of global warming, like drying rivers, extinction of species, melting of glaciers, became more often around the planet. The climate change became a threat to healthy environment and prosperity of humanity and wildlife, and the world community started searching for solution to combat climate change. In 2008 British Columbia introduced carbon tax on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to reduce global warming. Starting from $10 per tonne of CO2, the price was increasing annually till it reached $30 per tonne in 2012. During that period British Columbia was reducing harmful emissions and improving economy comparing to the rest of Canada. However, since the price rise on carbon stopped in 2012, no improving changes in cutting emissions, economy, and overall quality of life have been noticed. In this essay I will persuade that British Columbia should continue gradually increase price on carbon tax to the level where it will significantly cut the use of dirty energy, provide enough investments into the green projects, and support low-income families.

Replace Cap & Trade Carbon Tax with environmentally responsible initiatives which reinvest revenue in Northern Ontario, a Carbon Tax placed on imports from excessive carbon producing countries of 10%.

Canada is one of the developed nations in the world and with that comes a certain type of lifestyle that its citizens are accustomed to and often expect. This lifestyle is definitely not conscious of the environment at most times, however is trying to improve or at least find some kind of alternative to environmental problems that we can’t actually fix because they’ve become an important part of our everyday life. For that, our lifestyle has been measured by way of an ecological footprint and the results obviously haven’t been something to be proud of. Although there are many reasons why the ecological footprint of Canada is so high, one of the reasons is because of our excessive fossil fuel emissions from our cars, trucks, busses and planes.

An unfathomable number of planets, but only one Earth; one us. CO₂ is a naturally occurring gas, however, emissions in Canada have continually risen, from 591 megatons (Mt) in 1990 to a full 18% increase to 699 Mt by 2012 (Environmental Canada). The dramatic rise in existing levels is directly connected to human-related activities, with roughly 80% due to the burning of fossil fuels (Canada’s Action on Climate Change). When split into five equal quintiles according to income, the estimated emission production for the top quintile is around 20% over the calculated average of all five quintiles (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives [CCPA]). As well, it has been calculated that when analyzing gender, men contribute considerably larger

Despite its well-known Economic Action Plan and its continued emphasis on the need for more jobs and growth, it is still quite disturbing that the Canadian government gave a cold shoulder to environmental concerns in its 2014 budget. However, what has become clear in the last few years is that Canada is not committed to fighting climate change. In truth, it is not Canada that is uncommitted to the climate change cause. It is its Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, who is blocking all efforts to put Canada at the forefront of climate change efforts . And Canada should be leading climate change initiatives because it is one of the largest emitters in the world, and it is also a rich

Ontario has its own creative and effective strategies to combat climate change. One of Ontario’s goal is a low-carbon future. To accomplish this the province started making carbon reductions in 1990 and are on track to reduce carbon emissions by 15% in 2020, 37 per cent in 2030 and 80 per cent in 2050 (Climate Change Action Plan, 2017). Ontario’s target of reducing emissions by 6% was met on schedule in 2014 (Climate Change Action Plan, 2017). One of the reasons this has been made possible is because of Ontario’s investment in carbon reduction. For example, in 2015 Ontario committed $325-million payment to Ontario’s Green Investment Fund to support programs that help households and businesses implement

The "trade" refers to a market where companies can buy or sell “allowances,” or pay others to reduce emissions on their behalf, in order to comply with the cap in the lowest cost and most efficient way. The government sets an industry-wide limit to carbon production. Corporations that produce more than the set carbon limit are able to buy allowances from corporations who produce below the allowed amount. By doing this , it creates a market for carbon so that companies can actually make money by reducing their carbon output. As time progresses, the government will incrementally lower the cap, which will reduce the number of allowances issued and increase their price. Ontario's Climate Change Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act, 2016 (the "Climate Act"), creates a cap-and-trade system that covers 82 percent of Ontario's direct emissions. This system includes all fossil fuels (e.g., gasoline, diesel and natural gas) used in Ontario by individuals, governments and businesses, and some other important Greenhouse Gases. The first four-year compliance period began on January 1, 2017, and continues until 2020. The cap-and-trade system alone is predicted to provide only 2.8 Mt of the 18.5 Greenhouse gas reductions needed to meet Ontario's 2020 Greenhouse gas target. The government declared that the next 9.8 Mt of reductions will come from its Climate Change Action Plan, to be funded by the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Account, i.e., from selling cap-and-trade

The cap puts a limit on gas emissions which from time to time is lowered to reduce and control the amount of toxins released by pollutants into the atmosphere.

Its adoption in 1997 and ratification in 2002 furthered the fight against anthropogenic interference with earth’s climate system. Canada’s commitment began with a goal to reduce GHGs by 6% reduction from 1990 levels by 2012, or 461 megatons (Canada and the Kyoto Protocol 2016). In order to achieve these goals, legal requirements expected policies and measures prepared by the participating countries to reduce GHGs, by utilizing all available mechanisms, including joint implementation to earn emissions reduction units (ERU) to be counted towards the target, the clean development mechanism and emissions trading (Kyoto Protocol 1997). Every year, on the date set forth, every participating country was expected to keep track of emissions limits and performance standards, develop spending or fiscal measures, as well their expectation for the next year and results from the previous (E. Canada 2013). When the first reduction timeline was up in 2008, instead of a decrease in emissions, Canada recorded an increase 24.1 percent higher than 1990 levels. The lack of commitment was superseded by the new government’s ‘Made in Canada” effort to push country-unified laws, though no significant changes were

Electricity generation is Canada's fourth-largest source of greenhouse gas. When it comes to controlling the emission that comes from electricity generation; most provinces in Canada are already opting out of the coal phase to provide cleaner energy. The burning of firewood to create energy releases CO2 into the atmosphere thereby introducing more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.therefore introducing approaches to electricity such as increasing the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources; connecting clean power with places that need it and modernising electrical system could bring Canada to its goal by at least 5% to 15%. New rules that help to control emissions from an electrical sector that is burning natural gases should also be implemented. the government Could also control greenhouse gas emission by mandating the carbon pricing policy. Carbon pricing charges industries and corporations that emit CO2 for their emissions. This limits their emissions by instituting a price charge and encourage companies and consumers from burning fossil fuel and find alternative ways that are efficient for their business. Carbon pricing has been known to be the best tool in reducing greenhouse gas emissions since most of the gases released into the atmosphere are carbon. Carbon pricing helps to fight climate change and it provides job opportunity in creating clean energy. the growing population is also a discussable topic in climate change that could be really hard to control due to the fact that as the population increases; the demand for products that release this toxic gases would also increase. The government could control this by finding alternative ways to produce these commodities without introducing so much carbon or methane into the

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) aspires to “stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.” The Paris Agreement, created under the UNFCCC, helps make that goal a reality. Signed by Canada on Earth Day 2016, the agreement “requires all Parties to put forward their best efforts through ‘nationally determined contributions’ (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead. This includes requirements that all Parties report regularly on their emissions and on their implementation efforts. There will also be a global stocktake every 5 years to assess the collective progress towards achieving the purpose of the agreement and to inform further individual actions by Parties.” As of 5 November 2016, ninety-seven parties out of one hundred ninety-seven have signed the agreement that went into effect on 4 November 2016. Canada’s involvement in the UNFCCC and the Paris agreement is just the tip of the iceberg, and it is quite a contribution to global efforts to reduce climate change.

Canadian citizens are witnessing the devastating effects of climate change on our world. These major impacts are a result of human behavior and will get worse without any actions taken. Most of how Canadian’s produce greenhouse gas emissions is through Home energy, food/shopping, and cars/transport as this strategy of living can cause polar ice caps to melt in the northern and southern hemisphere causing habitat loss, sea levels rising/decreasing, temperature change, and El Niño. This global warming issue has taken a huge effect in Canada as finding alternative ways to reduce consumption of transportation, clothing, food, and shopping is required.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the nation by surprise in October 2016 by stating that each province in Canada will need to adopt a carbon pricing scheme by 2018. In addition, Trudeau added that the only other option for the provincial governments will be to impose a cap and trade system in order to follow the Paris Agreement. Countries that follow the agreement must set their own targets for reducing the carbon gases that they emit into the atmosphere. The main goal is to sustain global warming to be under two degrees Celsius. (Paris Agreement Paragraph 2). Revenues made off of the carbon tax will remain with the provinces and territories of origin. With this taxpayer money, each provincial government can decide how the tariffs are distributed.

Government enacted solutions are probably the most effective ways to reduce carbon emissions and to control pollution since unfortunately the majority of individuals mainly act to their own self-interest and are not concerned with the future of the planet. This is a prime example of the tragedy of the commons, which is the exploitation of a common resource. In this case the common resource is the atmosphere. The first method proposed is the carbon cap trade system. The term cap means the limit or the maximum of the amount of pollutant to be emitted. A trade refers to the transfer of permits that have to be bought by firms that need to increase their volume of emissions from firms that require fewer permits 1. The carbon tax method is a tax on the carbon content of fuels — effectively a tax on the carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels 2. So, which system would be best for the government to enact to reduce carbon emissions in the atmosphere?

The year 2016 was the warmest year on average in NASA’s 136 year record. One main reason this occurred is the increase in greenhouse gases. To reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the air, the Canadian government has decided to implement a carbon tax as of 2018. (Canadian Press, 2017). A carbon tax is a “legal binding associated with harmful emissions charge.” (Maclean’s, 2016). Several provinces have already introduced a carbon tax, including British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec. While British Columbia and Alberta have a carbon tax, Quebec uses a cap-and-trade system instead. The government believes it is important to avoid “economic damage caused by cross-country carbon price differentials.” (Maclean’s, 2016). That is why they are