Some federal Conservatives are reportedly interested in finding
"red tape obstacles to a green economy". At one level,
this is good news; I'm glad to hear of any government trying to
build a green economy. The International Energy Agency issued an
extraordinarily bleak report last week about the continuing growth
in infrastructure for a fossil fuel economy, rendering it more and
more difficult to avoid massive and devastating climate disruption.
In this context, any meaningful steps towards a green economy would
be welcome.
Unfortunately, the major federal obstacles to a green economy
are not "red tape", i.e. regulations, but economics. As
long as pollution (carbon and otherwise) is free, regulation
won't do much to prevent it. This has been banged home by the
National
Round Table on the Environment and Economy, the Environmental
Commissioner of Ontario, even by the president of the Royal
Bank of Canada: the essential, fundamental, and indispensible
national
