Thursday, June 20, 2019

That's It?


Andrew Scheer has finally released his plan to tackle climate change. Alex Boutillier and Alex Ballingall report that:

Under the Conservative plan, companies will still be forced to pay for their pollution, but consumers will not pay a fuel levy directly at the cash register or gas pump as they do under the federal carbon price.
The party would put a cap on industrial emissions, forcing companies that emit more than 40 kilotonnes per year to pay unspecified amounts into research and development initiatives that are certified by the federal government. Examples in the plan include funding divisions of private companies that develop emissions-reducing technology, and paying into green technology programs at Canadian universities.

And, like all conservatives these days, Scheer says a tax is bad policy:

“You cannot tax your way to a cleaner environment. Instead, the answer lies in technology,” Scheer said as he unveiled his environmental plan in Chelsea, Que.

But wait a minute. There are no targets. There's no way to measure if the policy is working.  But, even more importantly, the policy is focused exclusively on industry. That presumably means that the rest of us don't have to do anything to save the planet.

Apparently, emissions from cars and trucks aren't a problem. Presumably Scheer will complain -- with Doug Ford -- about the cost of gas at the pumps. And there will be no cap and trade plan to help Canadians adapt to a green economy. The government will establish a fund to help them do that. Technology will provide the money and save us from oblivion. That's it.

This is a very un-conservative approach to the problem. But conservatives stopped being conservatives long ago. One can only conclude that Mr. Scheer is a fool. And his party is a fools parade.

Image: Babylon Revisited Rare Books


10 comments:

Lorne said...

And, to add one more point, Owen, Scheer and his handlers surely think that the electorate is as big a fool as him and his team. In that, I hope they are wrong.

Owen Gray said...

I share your hope, Lorne. But it's been my experience that large numbers of my fellow citizens are easily conned.

Anonymous said...

So Shell is working on “green initiatives”. Is Scheer going to make them pay themselves?

UU

The Mound of Sound said...


I wonder who formulated the Tories' climate platform? My guess would be the Fraser Institute via CAPP, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers.

Owen Gray said...

It's painfully obvious, Mound, that the Conservative Party of Canada is in the oil industry's pocket.

Owen Gray said...

Good question, UU. It undescores the fact that Scheer's Party doesn't think deeply or for long.

Ben Burd said...

" but consumers will not pay a fuel levy directly at the cash register or gas pump as they do under the federal carbon price."

So untrue, they (consumers) will pay the priced of marked up gas as the petropimps will pass on the cost of the 'pollution levy'

Owen Gray said...

They'll pay the price, Ben. But they'll try to use less of the product -- which is what it's all about.

Ben Burd said...

They will pay the price and the polluters will pay nothing because the levy has been passed on and the the poor consumer will wonder why the price went up and never connect the issues. THE TAX HAS BEEN HIDDEN! That's my point

Owen Gray said...

You're right, Ben. The tax is hidden. And you can argue -- credibly -- that is dishonest. Still, behaviour changes as prices rise. Decreasing carbon emissions has to come at a cost. The trick is to make that cost gradule. And that's what worries scientists. We don't have much time to make the changes we need. And the longer we put off those changes, the more dire our situation becomes.