Canadians consume more than 5x more energy per capita than the global average, and 5.8x the amount of natural gas. Most of this is thanks to our fossil fuel-intensive industry and transportation sectors which will be increasingly subject to higher taxes, penalties and liability for pollution caused. See 10 Handy Facts about Canadian Energy that you Probably Want to Know:
“…51 per cent of Canada’s energy is used by industry for things like oil and gas, refining, mining, pulp and paper and chemicals. Another 23 per cent is used in transportation: freight trucks, passenger cars, airplanes.
That leaves only 14 per cent for residential and 12 per cent for commercial. In other words, it’s the big factories, mines and refineries that are using most of our energy — yet they’re often the same entities which receive exemptions or subsidies for emissions.
Given the industrial sector’s large dependence on fossil fuels to make or extract stuff, this has meant that Canada has an extremely high amount of energy required per dollar of GDP — higher than even China.”
The world is in the midst of a necessary turning point in energy use and efficiency, which will only intensify from here. With record debt, stagnant household incomes and now weakening revenues for many companies and all levels of government, finding ways for Canadians to reduce operating expenses is imperative.
The obvious low-hanging fruit in becoming more environmentally and financially sustainable is to focus consumers, business and governments on reducing energy consumption and waste, while dramatically increasing efficiency in our transportation, buildings and food systems–right now, at all levels of policy and plans. At the same time, we need to tax the waste and harm we seek to reduce. A carbon tax is part of that. This is economics 101.
One of the biggest issues in this election is whether the current federal carbon tax will survive after the votes are counted. How did Canadian conservatives turn against carbon pricing? Why is Ontario trying to fight it in court? What are the alternatives? We take a hard look at what it means to pay for climate change. Here is a direct audio link, starting at 11:30 on the playbar.
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