British Columbia, a Canadian province has announced tax on carbon emissions by individual consumers.
Taking the battle against global warming right to the doorsteps of individual consumers, British Columbia, a Canadian province, has announced tax on carbon emissions.
Presenting the budget last week, Finance Minister Carole Taylor said the new carbon tax would begin July 1, starting at a rate that would have drivers paying about an extra 2.4 cents per litre of gasoline at the pumps.The tax -- which will apply to virtually all fossil fuels, including gasoline, diesel, natural gas, coal, propane and home heating fuel -- will then increase each year after that until 2012, reaching a final price of about 7.2 cents per litre.
After that, Taylor said, it would rest with the government of the day to decide if the tax rate should change any further.
The Globe and Mail reported:
"'It has been a dramatic turn, I think, for this province with this budget to say we're not just going to be talking about climate action,' said Carole Taylor. She said the strategy was to 'tax something that we know is bad for us,' and use the revenue to stimulate wide social change by providing incentives for people and businesses to become more energy efficient."
The plan is meant to be "revenue neutral," meaning that overall taxes won't climb. To compensate, corporate and personal income tax rates will drop, and low-income families will receive an annual tax credit of $100 per adult and $30 per child. To jump start the program, every resident will get a one-time payment of $100 this year.
The Canadian Press reported:
"[British Columbia] Premier Gordon Campbell said he won't try to pressure any other provinces to take action on climate change but he hopes B.C. serves as an example. He said by giving British Columbians tax breaks on things such as fuel-efficient cars and energy-efficient appliances, British Columbians are being given real choices on battling climate change. 'It'll drive investment in the economy,' Campbell said."
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University of Victoria climatologist Andrew Weaver said that the tax wouldl send an important message:
"To me, what's important is the actual signal to the market that carbon is going to have a price. And that price is going up, not down. And that, in itself, is enough to do a paradigm shift as to how we do stuff."
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"We're doing something differently here in Ontario that suits our economy and the direction that we're pursuing...."
"The move was seen as a huge win by environmentalists, who depicted B.C. as a leader in taking action on climate change. 'I think this is a landmark decision in North America as far as government addressing global warming,' said Ian Bruce of the Suzuki Foundation. 'The B.C. government has decided to use one of the most powerful incentives at its disposal to reduce pollution,' he added...."
Some federal officials in Canada are concerned that individual plans by provinces could be more costly and less efficient than a unified approach.
The National Post reported:
"'(Canadians) don't want to pay more for cars, they don't want to pay more for other things because the governments can't get their act together and co-operate,' [Finance Minister Jim Flaherty] said."
That's essentially the argument the Bush administration has been using to block California and other states from regulating vehicle greenhouse gas emissions, the Christian Science Monitor, the US daily, points out pungently.
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