Over 50 policy experts gathered in Montreal at the end of March to put forth a vision that confronts the challenges facing Canada as it steams towards its 150th birthday in 2017. Canada at 150: Rising to the Challenge, was touted as a non-partisan conference hosted by the Liberal party. One of the conference’s themes focused on the intersection of energy, the environment and the economy.
Three major messages emerged from the hour-long discussion: the need for a carbon price; Canada’s position in the world relative to green technology; and, the need for a national environmental strategy that includes the development of the oil sands. The panel session, titled Clean Energy and Canada’s Potential in a Low Carbon World, can be watched online.
Carbon pricing was seen as a foundational policy consideration. A price on carbon would encourage business executives to install energy-saving technologies and processes to return value to shareholders while reducing emissions. Prudent homeowners would also respond to the incentives delivered through carbon prices. Whether the pricing vehicle should be a carbon tax or a market mechanism like cap-and-trade wasn’t explicitly discussed, though it was said that most experts agree a tax is the most transparent, straightforward, and consistent policy lever that could be supplemented with complementary policies.
In terms of national strategies, the panelists saw the federal government playing a serious role both in making Canadian policy compatible with American rules and managing interprovincial disparities in geography, resources, and historical infrastructure. Waiting for the US to act was seen as economically irresponsible because in waiting, Canada would lose its time-sensitive competitive advantage in green technology, and because other global business competitors are moving ahead so quickly. Also, American investment in renewable energy is some 18 times greater than Canada’s per capita, suggesting that rather than waiting for the US to catch up, Canada is already falling behind.
Technology development was seen as the lynchpin to competitiveness in the burgeoning green technology market. Aligning with developing giants like China was seen as a major opportunity for Canadian business, not only in low carbon technologies, but also other environmental fields like water purification and waste management.
Overall, the panel presented an informative but unsurprising account of what Canada must do to keep pace and thrive in an increasingly competitive green landscape. What remains to be seen is how these policy ideas will be translated into platform planks in the coming months.
By Jeff Beyer, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
