Canada’s federal government takes a cue from British Columbia’s price on carbon

Canadian Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna pledged to enact a nationwide carbon price on provinces that don’t do enough to curb greenhouse gas emissions on their own.

McKenna said that each province would be allowed to create their own pricing scheme — whether a tax like British Columbia, or a cap-and-trade system like Quebec — and would only be subject to the national scheme if they are not achieving sufficient reductions. Four provinces in Canada — British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and, Quebec — currently have some kind of carbon pricing scheme, and approximately 80 percent of Canadians live in an area where there is a price on carbon.

British Columbia’s carbon tax, which was implemented in 2008, has been successful in reducing emissions while having a “negligible” effect on the province’s economic activity. Moreover, the tax has become popular among residents and businesses — polling last year found that only 32 percent of voters oppose the tax, and businesses have actually called for the tax to be increased.

In Washington state, residents will have a chance to vote for their own version of a carbon tax this November, inspired by the success seen in British Columbia. And nationwide, a new poll shows that Americans might be willing to pay a carbon tax in order to reduce global warming.

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