74% Of Canada's Kyoto Costs Borne By Citizens, Not Energy Sector

[hatrack]

BROOKLIN, Canada, Apr 26 (IPS) - "Canada plans to shift the burden of massive cuts in greenhouse gas emissions onto the public and away from its booming oil and gas sector. Scientists blame greenhouse gases, most of which are released when fossil fuels like oil and coal are burned, for global warming.

''Project Green,'' Canada's 10-billion-dollar plan to meet its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, makes individual Canadians responsible for at least 74 percent of emission reductions even though they are responsible for only about one-fourth of the country's emissions, environmental organizations said. By contrast, they added, Canada's booming oil and gas sector, among the most pollution-intensive in the world, gets off lightly under the plan. ''Project Green is unfair and unmanageable. It shifts an impossible burden of reductions onto Canadian taxpayers,'' said Matthew Bramley, director of climate change at the non-governmental Pembina Institute.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force in February, Canada agreed to reduce its GHG emissions by 6 percent by 2012. This translates into a reduction of between 270 and 300 megatonnes (Mt) of GHG emissions. ''Industry could make big cuts at low cost. The oil industry had previously said it would only cost 25 cents a barrel to make significant reductions in emissions,'' Bramley told IPS.

Canada's energy and automobile manufacturing sectors are among large industrial emitters of GHGs collectively responsible for nearly half of all GHG emissions. Under Project Green, Canada's largest emitters are expected to reduce emissions by just 36Mt. The plan spares Canada's automotive industry from having to boost car and truck fuel efficiency 25 percent by 2010. Instead, it asks automakers to work together voluntarily to lower total emissions by 5.3Mt by 2010."

EDIT

http://www.ipsnews.net/new_nota.asp?idnews=28457

[tuvor]

1. I wonder if the NDP will have any influence before the next election.

Now that they've formed a loose co-operative with the Liberals.

[forgethell]

2. What did they expect?? n/t

[rfkrfk]

3. this is rubbish

no one believes, that Canada will send money overseas
for emission credits, or, cause problems for industry.

the only way that Canada might try to reduce emissions...
tax the poor

[orwell]

4. Costs

Costs will ultimately be born by consumers, whether directly, or indirectly through higher prices in the products they buy due to manufacturing industries passing on compliance costs in the price of goods sold.

That being said, it seems that it is clearly in everyones best interests to dramatically increase CAFE standards globally as both a check on GHG emissions at the tailpipe per mile traveled, but also to decrease usage of a resource that by anyones measure will be in short supply by mid-century.

High oil/gas prices will push the consumers to start demanding far more fuel efficient vehicles, but the lag time could be considerable. It would be better for all concerned if world governments treated this as the major problem it is and began pushing manufacturers toward energy efficiency now rather than later.

But ultimately, all costs will be borne by consumers. It would be best from a market perspective if the costs were born directly by those who use the resource instead of spreading it out among all consumers, whether they use the products/services or not.