GHG Election Tracker - Vote for Action on Climate Change

The campaign is nearing its end as we approach the May 2nd election day. The coverage has been disappointing in terms of climate change as an issue or concern for candidates, electors, and the media. There are many reasons for this absence. The fear of the issue as a hot topic has kept candidates from raising it. But the Canadian electorate must take some of the blame for simply keeping it off the agenda as an item of concern.

Whether it made the front pages or not, climate change was clearly addressed in the platforms of all parties. I would encourage folks to vote on Monday to have an impact on our country's future. And if you're undecided or you weren't going to vote, perhaps you would consider voting for the long-term future of the health of our children and the safety of humans everywhere.

We've outlined the platforms of the big three parties and their stances on climate change policies. Here are a couple more helpful resources to help you decide who will best steward our country and planet for the future.

• Read all the media releases and blogs from the Pembina Institute's climate change analysts, here.
• The Climate Action Network provides analysis of party platforms and strategies, here.

GHG Election Tracker - New Democratic Party Platform

Today the GHG Election Tracker takes on the NDP platform to see how it measures up on climate change policy and emission reduction potential.

The New Democrats have developed a platform that shows commitment to fighting climate change domestically with a further commitment to play nice on the international stage. Unlike the other 2 parties of the big 3, the NDP policies address all 5 of the 5 policy strategy areas on our GHG election tracker template. That said, the detail is very sketchy in places.

Targets

The NDP presents a target that is identical to the Liberals. They use 1990 as their baseline year and commit to reduce emission by 80% of 1990 levels by 2050. As well, they propose to impose interim targets, but leave those undefined in their platform document.

Regulations and Incentives

The NDP promises to put a price on carbon through a cap-and-trade system. They will establish hard emissions limits for Canada’s biggest polluters. By restricting the regulations to the largest emitters, this may mean that their cap-and-trade system is more limited than the Liberal party’s strategy. A more ubiquitous system would enable more reductions and more opportunities for offsets. Without the full details of both plans, it is difficult to compare. However, commitment to hard caps and a price on carbon indicates real commitment to meeting emission reduction goals

The NDP has indicated as well that they would integrate the design of the system with the Obama administration in the hopes of building a North American-wide cap-and-trade system.

Energy Sources and Efficiency

The NDP appears to have made a cogent strategy to enable the transition to low carbon fuel sources. They will cut subsidies to non-renewable sources such as fossil fuels. The funds from emission reductions auctions will be redirected into renewable energy. They will reinstate incentives for renewable energy. As well they have outlined a transition plan to incent innovative “made in Canada” green technology solutions; strategies to manage transitional costs and re-engineering of energy dependent industries to help them adapt to a low carbon world; and a Green Jobs Fund to support workers though the transition to a clean energy economy. They also propose green bonds to help fund RE research and community energy to round out a very thorough energy program.

Finally, they offer a national public transit strategy to address one of Canada’s major carbon emission sources, the transportation sector.

Climate Change Research and Funding

This is the only platform of the big three that proposes to deal with adaptation to climate change, if only in a cursory mention in their promise to establish effective programs to help Canadian communities deal with the unfolding impacts of a warming planet.

International Policy

The NDP platform is thin on details about their plans for international participation in dealing with climate change. However, they commit to play a lead role in achieving a new international agreement to avert catastrophic global warming and ensure that Canada meets its climate change obligations.

The NDP platform with regard to climate change is aggressive in its targets and very thorough in its approaches to dealing with the transition to low carbon energy sources and alternatives. The platform is weak however in the details regarding their international approach, their adaptation strategy, and the cap-and-trade system. While their focus on North American integration of emission reduction strategy and cap-and-trade is an intelligent strategy, one hopes that we will not be entirely dependent on leadership south of the border. Savvy flexibility is good. Abandoning our leadership position, not so much. We can hope they intend the former.

GHG Election Tracker - Conservative Party Platform

In our continuing efforts to deconstruct the party platforms and understand the impacts on Canada's GHG strategy, today we look at the Conservative party platform.

With the incredible resources that the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) could bring to bear and their experience in government for the past 5 years, I would have expected more than 4 bullet points on climate change. But indeed, that is all they give us in the 67 page platform document.

Let's parse out the Conservative offering in the context of my 5 key climate change policy areas for evaluating party platforms.

Targets

The Conservatives trumpet the alignment of Canadian climate-change targets with those of the Obama Administration. CPC goal is a 17-percent reduction in domestic greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2020.

The trickery in this target is that in 2005 Canada’s emissions were one of the highest levels ever at 734 megatonnes. By contrast the Liberals have chosen a baseline year at 1990 when our emissions were at 592 megatonnes. So the 17% reduction of 734 megatonnes does not even lower the CPC’s target to meet the Liberals’ baseline of 592. Let me say that again, the Conservative’s emission reduction target is higher than the Liberals' emission reduction baseline.

Regulations and Incentives

There is no mention of a plan for a price on carbon. In fact Environment Minister, Peter Kent confirmed under direct questioning that the CPC does not support a price on carbon.

There is a brief mention of “targeted and common-sense regulation of industries by sector” in a recent news release about the retro-fit program, but there is no mention of that industry regulation in their platform document.

Energy Sources and Efficiency

Energy efficiency is supported through the extension by one year of the ecoEnergy Retrofit-Homes program.

The platform also offers "additional support for research and development in clean energy and energy efficiency". But there are no details to the program, dollars, or timelines.

Within the platform text there is an ambiguous declaration that they will support any clean energy programs that are in the national interest. They claim that their support for the Churchill Falls hydro project will be a foundation of their emission reduction strategy. Problem is, the Churchill Falls hydro project will flood thousands of hectares of land and result in massive amounts of methane emissions from the rotting, flooded vegetation. Methane has a global warming potential that is 23 times stronger that carbon dioxide and will cause the ghg emissions of the project to exceed any offsets they could achieve by displacing fossil fuels.

Climate Change Research and Funding

There is no mention of any research into climate change adaptation or climate change modeling or mapping.

International Policy

The Conservative platform’s international policy on climate change is tied entirely to harmonization with the US, with little explanation beyond that statement. Considering the excellent report recently released by the arms-length National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy and the foundation that could have provided for a well-rounded policy statement, the lack of detail is baffling.

There is no mention of intentions regarding our participation as a global citizen in the United Nations negotiations. The document does laud past participation in the Copenhagen Accord, the backroom deal that was struck during the international climate change meetings in Copenhagen 2 years ago. It has since been supplanted by the Cancun Agreements that were negotiated openly and enjoyed broad support from the international delegations at the meetings in Cancun.

It is baffling and somewhat worrying that the CPC would point to a 2 year old accord instead of the active and ongoing process to negotiate global agreement on combating dangerous climate change.

The entire document is written in brochure format with very little detail or vision. It appears entirely piecemeal and reads like an exercise in cut and paste with lots of bullets and boxes. There is no evidence of commitment to combating climate change, just a couple of off-hand references to dubious claims of past performance. References to climate change are vague and even misleading in some parts, as the analysis by the 5 policy areas above indicates.

GHG Election Tracker - Debate Disappoints

If you tuned into the debates to follow-up on any of the party's policies regarding ghg emissions or climate change, you'd be forgiven for thinking these issues didn't matter to the leaders, to the debate hosts, or to Canadians. Questions or comments on those topics were sadly lacking last night.

The only appearance by climate change or carbon policy was the reference to Canada's sliding reputation on the international stage. The fact that Harper tried to defend his position by trumpeting involvement in the weak and defunct Copenhagen Accord would be laughable if I thought Canadians would see through the lie.

The irony of Harper's citation is beyond laughable, however. The Accord was a political back room agreement among a few advantaged nations, and was soundly rejected by many poorer countries who were shut out of the process. Typical of Harper's contempt for process and rules that he would laud this political and slanted Accord.

Even more ironic, however is the fact that Canada was shut out of the negotiation of that Accord. A fact that our negotiating team cried foul about at the time.

It is a sad fact that most Canadians will not know the back-story of Harper's reference and how cruelly ironic it was. He knew he could count on Canadians' ignorance and knew that he could get away with presenting a falsehood straight-faced in order to score a debate point.

I would have liked to have heard a debate about climate change targets and the cap-and-trade programs of the parties. I certainly did not find enlightenment on those topics. However, Mr. Harper's contempt for Canadians' knowledge of international politics and the democratic process of the United Nations was brought into sharp focus by my subject matter knowledge of the finer points of international climate change policy. Perhaps that was the strongest learning point of the evening.

NEXT UP: The Platforms are out. I will post my findings on the Conservative and NDP platforms in the next few days. Stay tuned!

GHG Election Tracker - NDP propose to end oil subsidies

The details are thin, but the intent is laudable. Last week New Democrat Leader Jack Layton proposed to end the generous subsidies to oil producers that are currently doled out by the Harper Conservative government.

The New Democratic Party proposes to take the $2 billion dollars that presently go to the oil industry and redirect it into renewable energy and green jobs. Programs such as solar hot water installations, commercialization of clean tech, and training for renewable energy technicians, researchers, designers, and energy auditors would benefit Canadians directly and provide economic stimulus for healthy growth.

This is the kind of innovative thinking that can drive Canada into a place of economic leadership in the new millenium. Using fossil fuel subsidies and legacy sector grants to transition to the new technologies that will drive our economy is a significant strategy in meeting emission reduction goals while growing the Canadian economy.

We look forward to more details about these programs and others as the NDP reveals their platform in the days to come.

GHG Election Tracker - The Liberal Platform

I dedicated my blog space to giving impartial review to the policies of the parties as they impact climate change and GHG emissions. So no favourtism to any party is intended. But right now the Liberals are out front on action on climate change and emissions reductions with the release of their party platform yesterday. We look forward to the detailed platform releases from the other parties.

Let's do a quick review on how the Liberals' platform stacks up against my 5-climate-change-action-strategies checklist:

1. Targets

The Liberals are proposing a target of 80% below 1990 GHG emission levels by 2050. In 1990, Canada's National GHG Inventory totaled 592 Megatonnes. Our annual emission totals have been rising steadily ever since. By choosing 1990 as the baseline year, the Liberals have shown that they are making a serious commitment to addressing dangerous climate change as an issue for our nation.

By comparison, the Conservatives took 2005 as their baseline year, the second highest year in the past 20 at 731 Megatonnes. By choosing a high-total baseline year, the Conservatives' percentage based targets are very weak. Their most recent announced target was 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. We shall see if their is a new one in their election platform.

2. Regulations and Incentives

The Liberals have committed to one of the strongest policy tools that can be employed to reduce emissions. Their cap-and-trade plan has been called "the most significant piece of economic legislation since NAFTA" by the Globe and Mail. The plan has teeth in that it addresses every region and every economic sector. Also, significantly, they propose to work with the provinces to incorporate their early actions on the Western Climate Initiative. I look forward to more details on the plan and a proposed timeline. I think a full blog post on the cap-and-trade plan is warranted. Stay tuned for more.

3. Energy Sources and Efficiency

Lots of meat on these bones in the platform. A return of the Renewable Power Production Incentive will be welcomed by the renewable energy industry and should stimulate growth of renewables. Efficiency tax credits for renovations. Action on Oil Sands development. Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies. Lots to chew on here.

4. Climate Change Research and Funding

I can't say I've gone over the 98 document cover to cover with a fine-toothed comb. However, any commitment to climate change research seems to be part of their more general commitment to funding research and innovation in general. Nothing specific yet.

5. International Policy

This zone of climate change policy action is a strong suit for the party that brought Canada into Kyoto. The platform commits to the aggressive international goal of a 2 degree limit to global warming. The Liberals also commit to cooperating with other nations in the negotiations to produce a post-Kyoto climate agreement. I can see another full blog post devoted to "International Policy" upcoming. In light of my experience at Copenhagen and Cancun, I have lots to say on this topic.

These comments are just my initial read-through of a dense document. I expect to dig deeper in the coming days. However their action on these 5 tenets taken together show me the first real commitment by a political party in Canada to address climate change, meet international obligations, and grow a healthy green economy in the post-carbon 21st century.

I look forward to commenting on the platforms of the other parties.

GHG Election Tracker - Churchill Falls & The Liberal Platform

Two quick snippets from the election trail.

Conservatives & Churchill Falls

Last week Prime Minister Harper threw his support behind the Newfoundland Churchill Falls Hydro Project. He also declared that this development was a key piece of a strategy to meet Canada's GHG emission reduction targets.

"This has the potential to be a very important part of our efforts to fight climate change in Canada," Harper told supporters. (The Globe and Mail, March 31, 2011)

Wrong. Whatever the merits or disadvantages of that project may be, reducing GHG emissions is not one of them. In fact, large hydro projects that flood thousands of hectares of land are net emitters of GHG emissions. The flooding of land results in destruction of forests and fields, which results in tonnes of rotting organics that bubble to the surface as methane. Methane has a global warming potential that is 23 times greater than CO2. The new dams at the Churchill Falls project will flood 41 sq. km and 85 sq.km.

Scientists estimate that the GHG emissions resulting from large hydro dams can be approximately double that of the equivalent size natural gas plant.

For more information about the environmental impacts of the new Churchill Falls development, you can check out the more thorough analysis by the Sierra Club.

The Liberal Platform

The Liberals released their platform today. The good news is there is lots in there on climate change and carbon emission strategy. The bad news is this will take longer to review and analyse than a quick snippet on today's blog. More about the Liberal Platform tomorrow.

GHG Election Tracker

As of today, April 2nd (April Fools Day would have been a lousy launch date, don’t you think?) I am turning this blog into a GHG Election Tracker. With my background in climate change policy analysis and in the carbon markets, I intend to glean as much information as possible from the party platforms and pronouncements, cut through the rhetoric and offer an impartial assessment of impacts on ghg emissions and climate change for Canada.

Look to this space as your source for the latest news on ghg emissions and climate change in the Canadian electoral battlefield.

As much as the politicians and media may try, they can’t put climate change in a box. It spans most issues, which makes tracking it like nailing jello to the drywall. But climate change policy is absolutely key for Canada’s future safety and security. Climate change spans topics like economics, health, agriculture, forestry, energy, international policy, trade, and oh ya, the environment.

Before we take a look at the stances of parties and leaders, let’s take a minute today to outline some of the policies that affect Canadian ghg emissions most directly.

1. Emission Reduction Targets

A key first step to addressing dangerous climate change is actually setting meaningful targets that fit international and scientific standards and analysis. What have each of the parties proposed?

2. Regulations and Incentives for emission reductions or sequestration

Which regulations or incentives will the parties use to help meet emission reduction targets? Some of the programs proposed include:

• Cap and Trade
• Carbon Offsets
• Carbon Tax
• Direct Regulation of Large Emitters

3. Energy Sources and Efficiency

An important strategy to reducing ghg emissions is to address the nature and amount of energy we use. What programs or incentives will parties implement to reduce the ghg emissions that result from our use of energy in the electrical grid, space heating, and transportation in Canada?

4. Climate Change Science Research and Funding

Canadian commodity producers (like farmers and foresters), municipal planners, insurance companies, and architects are just a sampling of the folks who need to know where the climate is headed in order to plan for our future and survive in the new climate. What are the parties’ commitments to helping Canada understand the future of climate change, how to mitigate its impact and how to adapt to the new reality?

5. International Policy

Canada’s position on the international stage has varied dramatically depending on who holds the reins to power. Our position on the international stage and in relation to the USA has had significant impacts on our economy, on key industrial and service sectors, as well as trade relations. What are the international policy positions of the governments in waiting? On Kyoto and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change? On harmonization of climate policy with the US?

NEXT UP:

Stay tuned. We start mapping map out the parties’ positions to help Canadians make intelligent choices about choosing the next government with the GHG Election Tracker.