I object to Bill 4, Cap and…

I object to Bill 4, Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018. It cancels a system that was effective in reducing Green House Gas emissions, and it is very vague about measures that might be implemented in the future to fulfil the same purpose.

Global Warming threatens the existence of all life that breathes oxygen. To remove a system that was reducing these emissions is to remove a necessary protection.

There is a system that would be even more effective than the Cap and Trade system. My recommendation would be to (a) gradually wind down the Cap and Trade system by following the provisions for termination that were included in the original act and accompanying regulations and (b) implement a Carbon Fee and Dividend system, starting at a low fee during the wind-down of Cap and Trade, and increasing to the levels recommended by Citizens Climate Lobby Canada when Cap and Trade has terminated.

Carbon Fee and Dividend treats all carbon fuel producers equally by charging a “dumping fee” per kiloton of carbon in the product. The fees are collected in a separate account and distributed quarterly equally to all adult residents of Ontario automatically. They just divide the fee income by the number of adult residents, and that average amount goes into our bank accounts as a dividend. The government can’t use that income for any other purpose.

The fee does raise the price of fuel, as the producers will have to pass the cost on. Since rich people use a lot more carbon fuel (and its by-products) than the poor, they pay out more than the poor, but the poor get the same averaged dividend, so they come out ahead. They can use that income for whatever they need. It will help them cover the increased cost of fuel.

By adding a dumping fee to the cost of fuel, we give the market a signal to find ways to use less fuel, and the consumption goes down.

To fully accomplish the move to a low-carbon economy, the Carbon Fee and Dividend policy needs to be accompanied by other policies which stimulate low-carbon innovation, to augment the encouragement to innovation generated by the increased price of carbon products.