On Wednesday, July 11th, P.E.I's Environment
Minister Richard Brown stated that the province will submit a
climate plan to Ottawa by September 1st, 2018. This
climate plan will not include a carbon tax nor a plan for a
cap-and-trade system; the two options that the federal government
has given the provinces for pricing carbon pollution. According to
Minister Brown, P.E.I's plan to reduce emissions 30% below 2005
emission levels by 2030 "doesn't require a tax" to meet the
applicable targets. Minister Brown is of the opinion that if the federal government's
objective is to reduce carbon emissions and there is a plan in
place why is a tax necessary?
University of P.E.I economist Jim Sentence stated that
carbon tax would have the following results: (i) raise the relative
cost of carbon-based fuels like gas and heating oil to encourage
the use of alternatives; and (ii) redistribute the carbon tax
revenues through perks like household rebates or income tax
cuts.
