Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s…

Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s recommendation is that the Ontario legislature should phase out cap and trade by 2021 while phasing in carbon fee and dividend.
Since 2010, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada has been advocating for carbon fee and dividend: an incrementally rising price on carbon pollution where 100% of the fees collected are returned to citizens. In Canada, carbon fee and dividend is also championed by Clean Prosperity and has been endorsed by the PostMedia Editorial board in September 2017 in their syndicated editorial “Here’s how to make carbon pricing honest”. In September 2018, Clean Prosperity recently released a study that found the vast majority of Ontarians would come ahead under a carbon fee and dividend policy.

In the USA, Shell Oil, General Motors and other big corporations are the founding corporate members of the Climate Leadership Council. They are a policy institute that is actively lobbying Congress in the USA to pass carbon fee and dividend legislation. A June 2018 study found that their Carbon Dividends Plan would achieve more than triple the emissions reductions of all Obama-era climate regulations, and could exceed the high end of the U.S. Paris Commitment. The Carbon Dividends Plan also has a well-funded political action committee.

Globally, 20% of emissions are now covered by a carbon price - including 45 national carbon pricing policies.

What business and industry requires for long-term business planning is clarity of purpose as to the future direction of climate policies. Thus, if Ontario is truly open for business, we need policy persistence for the dealing with the climate crisis.

Carbon fee and dividend could be that policy. Carbon fee and dividend is a policy where all sides win. It will appeal to a broad spectrum of Canadians, whether they support small government, free markets, strong environmental policy, or expanded government benefits. Thus, carbon fee and dividend has built-in policy persistence.

The first compliance period for Ontario’s cap and trade program ends December 2020. This a logical time to end the program and bring in carbon fee and dividend.

Carbon fee and dividend in Ontario would work as follows:

• A fee is placed on carbon-based fuels at the source (well, mine or port of entry)

• The fee is increased at a pace that motivates the emissions reductions necessary to avoid catastrophic consequences

• Protect low and middle income households from increased energy costs associated with the carbon fee by returning 100% of the dividends collected by back to Ontarians.

• A predictably increasing carbon price will send a clear market signal which will unleash entrepreneurs and investors in the new clean-energy economy.

•• To prevent offshoring of carbon emissions, especially as the carbon fee rises, Canada’s federation of provinces and territories would work with the federal government to enact border carbon adjustments.

Furthermore, as is our right under the Ontario Bill of Rights, we demand to always have the right to open and public consultation with regards to changes environmental legislation. As well, we ask that the Government eliminate over $600 million in fossil fuel subsidies. Finally, we need legally binding greenhouse gas targets, transparent progress reporting and cross-party cooperation. Please use the United Kingdom’s Climate Change Act (2008) as a model which is the recommendation of Ontario’s Environment Commissioner in: Climate Action in Ontario: What’s Next?