I am not an economist and…

I am not an economist and therefore do not claim to know the best way of quickly and drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, whether by regulations, cap-and-trade or carbon pricing (aka "carbon tax"). It is my understanding, however, that the Ford government is tossing two of these options, cap-and-trade and carbon taxes, out of the window without first annunciating an alternate and effective plan for reducing GG emissions in Ontario. Furthermore, it is taking measures, notably attempting to reduce the cost of gasoline 10 cents/liter, that will make it even more difficult to reduce emissions, thereby making their job more difficult. That said, there are many ways to make huge cuts in GG emissions while still growing the economy, even without cap-and-trade and (possibly) without a carbon tax, so I will be interested in seeing whether the Ford government proposes any of them in their promised plan to reduce GG emissions. I am not optimistic however because it is obvious Doug Ford and Rod Phillips and others in the Ontario Conservative Party do not think climate change is a serious problem and therefore have no intention of doing anything serious about it. Certainly they are not supporting other jurisdictions and governments that are taking it seriously and are trying to mobilize collective action on all scales, from personal to provincial to national to global. Everybody must step up and do their part. Speaking as a mechanical engineer with 45+ years experience in thermal engineering in at least 4 industrial sectors, including nuclear, automotive, aerospace and telecommunications, I have little doubt that climate change will decimate economies worldwide by the end of this century and therefore that future generations will wonder why political leaders ignored it long after the consequences of it were widely understood.
I urge the Ford government not to scrap cap-and-trade and fight the federal "carbon tax" until they have proposed and implemented a better plan for reducing GG emissions in Ontario. They need to be out in front on this issue, not dragging their feet and impeding the progress of others who are trying to show leadership.