Please do not end or wind…

Please do not end or wind down the cap and trade program.

There is an overwhelming amount of evidence that shows that if we continue to release greenhouse gases at the rates we are doing so it will lead to devastating consequences. I have listed some - out of the hundreds - of evidence below and I will continue to voice my concern here.

Winding down the cap and trade program in Ontario would increase greenhouse gas emmions and decrease carbon taxes. This is the exact opposite type of action that scientists, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and even 2018 Nobel prize winners in economics (William Nordhaus and Paul Romer) urges governments to take. Key leaders in sustainability, environment science, and economics reccomend governments and companies to take action against climate change, to increase carbon tax, and to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. According to IPCC, we are heading for almost 4 degrees of warming when we should be trying to limit the rise in global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Increases at this level will very likely cause: major public and global health concerns, increase in climate change refugees, destruction of major ecosystems, and unsustainable economic growth to name just a few. Winding down the cap and trade program will make it even harder for Ontario and Canada to help the world reach the global goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and will possibly also contribute to the these worldwide consequences.

Perhaps the parties think that policy, sustainability, sustainable growth and economics work against each other. However, this does not have to be true. I have linked below articles that describe how economics and sustainable growth is very possible. When it comes to policy, there is proof in the past the policy changes can help both the environment and the public.

In the face of major public and global health concerns due to the increase is CFCs deteriorating our ozone layer in the 1970s, the Montreal Protocol was established to phase out substances that contributed to the ozone layer depletion. Significant change was brought as a result, and in doing research scientists have found out that the ozone hole we created in the past is now decreasing. To be clear: a policy (The Montreal Protocol) lead to this change that protected both human beings and the planet and it is perhaps one of the most successful international environmental policies created.

The Ontario Coal Phase Out is another example of how policy can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Ontario Coal Phase Out was, and still is, the single largest policy action to reduce greenhouse gas emmissions in North America. Eventhough their intention for the coal phase out was not to reduce greenhouse gases, it was a very happy consequence for both people and the environment as Ontario transitioned from non-renewable to renewable energy sources. I also know that it was the PC party that initiated this coal phase out. Imagine what Ontario could do now with our new emerging technologies, new knowledge on climate change, and our even deeper understanding of sustainabile growth when we put climate change and sustainability at the forefront of our thinking when it comes to policy matters.

Policies and acts - like the ones that govern the cap and trade program - will impact both humans and the environment and, if we take the necessary action and critical thought, we can create a policy that supports sustainability in terms of the environment, economic growth, and human health and well-being.

I understand that this will take a lot of work, money and unprecedented levels of change. However, I would rather do all of these tasks (and face the resulting effects at the citizen level) rather than commit actions that are holistically detrimental to people, the planet and our economy and have to face the consequences in future.

Thank you so much for your time. I hope you will take all the comments submitted, along with evidence, into consideration before making your final decision.

Have a wonderful day.

Sincerely,
A concerned citizen