Earlier this week, the…

Earlier this week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presented a terrifying report demonstrating that the world has only 12 years to dramatically reduce carbon emissions. The IPCC also changed the temperature target, given how rapidly and dangerously the world's climate is already changing, and warned that we must meet the lower 1.5 degree Celsius target in the Paris Agreement if we wish to avoid the more catastrophic effects of climate change.

At virtually the same time, the Nobel Prize for economics was awarded to two economists for their work demonstrating that carbon pricing is effective at reducing carbon emissions and mitigating climate change, all while building a sustainable economy.

And, still in the same week, our government is closing consultations on a Bill that would dismantle Ontario's existing climate action program that puts a price on carbon and replace it with...well, we have no idea. All we have been told is that it will definitely NOT include carbon pricing.

The juxtaposition of these events is remarkable, timely and ironic.

Bill 4 would take this province in the opposite direction of the one advocated by leading scientists and economists, among others. For our government, at this time in history, to be actively and aggressively dismantling a system of carbon pricing is short-sighted; for our government to ignore the work and warnings of countless scientists from around the globe is folly; and for our government to claim that it understands carbon pricing better than renowned, prize-winning economists is hubris.

The Cap and Trade Program was only in effect for 18 months - despite what our Premier may claim, this is not enough time to conclude that it was failing. Indeed, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario found that the program was working - perhaps not as quickly as we would want it to and with problems that needed fixing, but working nonetheless. To scrap the program entirely rather than try to improve it is both economically irresponsible and environmentally reckless.

I am highly skeptical that the government's vague pledge to replace Cap and Trade with another climate change plan will be effective, particularly as it has already summarily dismissed carbon pricing. Despite the claims by the Ford administration, it is generally agreed by many experts from across the political spectrum, ranging from environmental advocacy groups to Nobel Prize-winning economists, that putting a price on carbon is the only market solution to avoid runaway global warming, which makes it a necessary part of any climate action strategy. The only way that scrapping the cap and trade program would be acceptable is if it were replaced with a fee and dividend program. In either case, the money earned could be given back to the people so that it is not a so-called “tax grab.” Money collected could also be invested in further actions to reduce greenhouse gases, like electric car incentives, building and greening public transit systems, and investment in renewables and clean technology. The bottom-line is that Ontario must put a meaningful price on carbon.

Charging big emitters for their carbon emissions is a proven way to force polluters to pay the costs which otherwise must be paid by all of us. It is estimated that each ton of CO2 emitted has a cost of between $45 and $275, accounting for factors like difficulty growing food, threats to human health and lowered worker productivity. Environmental costs include damage from storms and wildfires. In the first 5 months of 2018, extreme weather events cost Ontarians $696 million which does not include the flooding Toronto experienced this summer or the investments in public infrastructure needed to prevent this kind of damage in the future. The costs of adapting to climate change and recovering from its inevitable impacts will be extraordinarily high...and will get higher the longer we put off taking the necessary actions. To continue to allow polluters to increase their profits by externalizing their costs onto the public is not only negligent, it contradicts the government's message that it is on the side of the taxpayer. Without carbon pricing and other policies in place to both mitigate the effects and offset the costs, individual Ontarians will be forced to pay for climate change. Whether we have to pay out-of-pocket for uninsured damage to our homes or through higher taxes to pay for infrastructure, either way, individuals and families lose.

Dismantling Cap and Trade and dismissing carbon pricing altogether will not serve the Ontario economy well in the long-run. Fossil fuels are a finite resource - they will get too expensive and they will run out. A government showing leadership and truly governing for the people would be thinking about how to quickly, fairly and effectively transition to a post-carbon economy, not about lowering gas prices and undermining renewable energy. To cancel renewable energy projects and de-incentivize electric vehicles jeopardizes this inevitable transition and will force us to scramble in the future, which will ultimately cost us more. It also sends a message to green industry that we are not “open for business” and discourages the jobs and investments that will ensure our economy remains prosperous, resilient and sustainable. As a recent Forbes article states, the Ontario PC’s backtracking on climate initiatives, including the cancellation of hundreds of wind and solar projects, “may have just cost its businesses billions, added millions in consumer costs, eschewed thousands of jobs, and muddied its investment outlook." Instead, Ontario could benefit from pursuing a forward-thinking economy, moving away from fossil fuels and investing in renewables and clean technology.

By pushing for Bill 4, the government is also ignoring the many economic benefits of addressing climate change. As reported in Huffington Post, reducing greenhouse gases substantially within the next 3 years, could result in “a grand economic transformation [which] could bring a $26 trillion windfall, create 65 million new jobs, and avoid [at least] 700,000 early deaths linked to air pollution...” around the globe. Nationally, according to Clean Energy Canada, actions to improve energy efficiency alone, could result in 118,000 jobs and save $1.4 billion annually. It makes no sense to cut incentive programs, like rebates for Ontarians to upgrade furnaces and install better insulation, that help curb greenhouse gas emissions, save us money and provide jobs for local contractors. Ontario should be viewing climate action and building a sustainable economy as a tremendous opportunity, not as a "tax grab" and economic drain.

It is always much easier to destroy something than it is to create. This government is showing a disturbing recklessness when it comes to vital public policy, cavalierly dismantling programs with no real thought as to how to replace them. Regardless of what happens with Bill 4, and I want to reiterate that I am completely against this Bill, Ontario needs an effective climate action plan that includes mitigation and adaptation strategies. I want to see a climate plan based on IPCC science and evidence-based policy. This plan must include data to back-up the policy choices, targets that reflect the 1.5 degree C pathway, a detailed timeline of actions to 2030 and beyond, and a full account of the costs and where the money is going to come from. As a start, the government could take a look at the recent report on climate action put out by the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. We do not have to reinvent the wheel - there is no time to start over and very intelligent, credible people have already given an extraordinary amount of thought to these issues. There are also countless examples from other jurisdictions around the world of policies, programs and actions that work upon which to draw.

Finally, I want to remind the government that they do not govern only on behalf of those people who voted for them or only on behalf of taxpayers. When Premier Ford says that he is governing for the people, "people" has to include Ontarians like my 8-year old son. Clearly, he does not yet vote or pay taxes. He will only be 20 in the year 2030, the deadline the IPCC has given us for decisive reductions in carbon emissions. He will only be 30 in the year 2040, when the IPCC warns we will begin to really experience the catastrophic effects of climate change if we do not do so. My son, and all children and youth of today, will only just be starting their adult lives by these dates, only just be embarking on what should be a time of life full of hope, beginnings and opportunity. Instead, if we do not act now, with courage and decision, we will be condemning younger generations to a dangerous, difficult and unpredictable future they had no hand in creating. The injustice of our inaction in the face of a known crisis is staggering; that we would cling to business-as-usual knowing the harm we are causing to future generations is unconscionable.

Ontario has been on the right side of history for the last decade, closing coal plants, investing in green energy, pricing carbon. The government must not, at such a crucial juncture in human history, derail that momentum.