Alberta Budget 2016 And Climate Change Leadership Plan

On April 14, 2016, Alberta’s NDP government released its new fiscal plan (the 2016 Budget), which implements the Climate Change Leadership Plan (the Plan) previously announced by the government this past November. The key elements of the Plan include the following:

• implementing a carbon tax that places an economy-wide price on greenhouse gas emissions
• phasing out emissions from coal-generated electricity by 2030 and replacing that capacity with electricity produced by renewable sources and natural gas
• capping total emissions from the oil sands at 100 megatonnes (Mt) per year
• implementing a new methane emission reduction strategy with the goal of reducing methane emissions by 45% from 2014 levels by 2025