Alberta, a primary source of fossil fuels in Canada, has announced plans, as reported by CBC News, to -slowly- move away from fossil fuels.
“Our goal is to become one of the world’s most progressive and forward-looking energy producers,” said Premier Rachel Notley. “We are turning the page on the mistaken policies of the past, policies that have failed to provide the leadership our province needed.”
Wind will be emphasized, carbon will be taxed. The Canadian oilsands industry backs the move:
Steve Williams, CEO of Suncor, shared Edwards’ enthusiasm.
“This plan will make one of the world’s largest oil-producing regions a leader in addressing the climate change challenge,” he said.
But not everyone is a fan:
One of the few dissenting voices came from the opposition Wildrose Party.
Leader Brian Jean said Albertans face job losses and economic uncertainty.
“This new carbon tax will make almost every single Alberta family poorer, while accelerated plans to shut down coal plants will lead to higher power prices and further jobs losses,” he said in a news release.
The Wildrose website is here. Wikipedia characterizes Wildrose as “a conservative provincial political party”, but it’s not clear if they have an official policy vis a vis climate change.
The Edmonton Sun has a few more details:
* Close the Coal-Fired Plants: The plan calls for the province’s 18 coal-fired electricity plants to be shuttered by 2030 with two-thirds of their former generation replaced by renewable energy, mostly wind generation. Renewable energy is expected to make up 30 per cent of Alberta’s electricity generation by 2030.
* A Carbon Tax on Everyone: The plan introduces a carbon tax of $20 per tonne in 2017 increasing to $30 per tonne in 2018. Expected to raise $3 billion a year, the tax would mean the price of gas at the pump will jump by 4.7 cents per litre and home heating costs will rise by $320 per year by 2017 and $470 by 2018. Albertans will be eligible for some form of rebate.
* An Oilsands Emissions Cap: The government says it will introduce a 100-megatonne cap on emissions from the oilsands. With the current projects operated by oilsands energy producers producing 70 megatonnes, the government says the cap allows the industry to continue to grow while providing time for it to find new ways to reduce the per-barrel emissions of oil production.
* Methane: The plan proposes Alberta implement a methane reduction strategy to reduce emissions by 45 per cent from 2014 levels by 2025. The methane reduction would be achieved in collaboration with industry, environmental organizations and First Nations groups.
So it appears support from oilsands was achieved by not hurting them immediately.
