Reducing carbon emissions should be effective and cost effective
Posted Oct 18, 2017 06:42:38 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
HALIFAX — As the Atlantic provinces look at reducing their carbon emissions, a new report by the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council (APEC) has released a report that says policy makers need to consider not just the effectiveness of the system, but also the cost effectiveness.
Associate Professor of Economics at McGill University, and chair of Canada's Ecofiscal Commision, Chris Ragan, was interviewed by APEC for the report and told NEWS 95.7 a carbon tax or cap-and-trade system are both viable options.
“There are lessons that Atlantic Canadian provinces can learn from BC, Alberta or Ontario or Quebec,” said Ragan.
“They all have systems up and running that are well designed and that I think will end up being effective.”
A carbon tax is simpler to role out and is a tax that applies to goods and services based on their carbon content. A cap-and-trade system is more complicated.
“The government sets a maximum limit, that's the cap, on the amount of green house gas emissions and then allows the emitters to trade tradable permits in a market,” said Ragan, adding “that establishes a market price per tonne of the emissions, and that price plays the role of the tax.”
Ragan also advised policy makers that the initial system does not need to be perfect, and can be modified over time.
