Pirate's Cove

Funny how they always want more money, eh?

Ottawa needs to boost carbon tax by $50 a tonne to meet emissions reduction targets: budget officer

The federal government would have to levy an additional carbon tax worth as much as $50 a tonne on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) to achieve Canada’s emissions reduction targets, the parliamentary budget officer (PBO) said in a report released Thursday.

Canada is a signatory to the Paris climate agreement, which committed virtually every country to lowering emissions to try to halt the effects of climate change. Under that agreement, Canada has committed to lowering emissions by some 30 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.

In real terms, that would mean lowering GHG emissions from 732 megatonnes to 513 megatonnes by 2030, a target initially pitched by the former Conservative government and agreed to by Environment Minister Catherine McKenna at the Paris climate talks.

The PBO said the problem is the government’s current policies and measures just aren’t enough to get the country to that promised level. Under the PBO projections, based on the government’s current carbon tax and other promised policy fixes, Canada will only get to 592 megatonnes — leaving a shortfall of 79 megatonnes.

But the PBO said Ottawa would have to go further still with the addition of a separate, more broadly based carbon tax, starting at $6 per tonne in 2023 before rising to $52 per tonne in 2030.

That would be on top of the current carbon price, which is worth $20 per tonne of emissions this year and rises incrementally to $50 by 2022.

It also would mean those living in those four provinces, and those living in provinces with their own pricing mechanisms, would have to pay as much as $102 per tonne by 2030 to ensure Canada hits the Paris targets — which are meant to keep the planet from warming more than 2 C from pre-industrial levels.

And what could happen?

A total carbon price of $102 per tonne — which includes the government’s carbon price and this new, PBO-suggested levy — would result in an additional hike to gas prices of as much as $0.23 per litre by 2030. (big snip)

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said the PBO report demonstrates that the current Liberal environmental policy is inadequate, arguing that the carbon tax will cost Canadians more but will stop well short of helping Canada meet its Paris targets.

“Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax would need to be $102 per tonne … that’s five times more expensive than it is today, meaning Canadians will pay more for groceries, home heating and gasoline prices will jump 23 cents a litre,” Scheer said in a statement.

Surprise?

Of course, this never really seems to hurt the rich politicians who pass these ‘climate change’ rules and laws, eh?