I was fortunate last week to attend the Alberta government’s climate change open houses. During a week that was plagued with the R-word and mass layoffs across the energy sector, it was a welcomed surprise that the open houses drew close to 1,000 public participants in Calgary and Edmonton. Albertans arrived well informed, armed with their own research and solutions, and ready to make their case to the climate change advisory panel members and public servants.
The commonality amongst the participants was a call to action, and an ever-present optimism that technology will aid us in the de-carbonization of our economy. As expected, there was strong support in the crowd for renewables, walkable cities, sustainable public transit, coal phase-out, and pricing carbon. The level of knowledge in the rooms was impressive.
Sadly, the economy was seemed to be an afterthought for many. Among the sea of colourful post-it notes and diatribes on poster boards I spotted only a handful of mentions of the economy. When asked “what’s important to me?” one Albertan strikingly scribbled “Jobs, cannot lose my job”. One lone wolf energy field worker, aptly wearing a ‘I heart oil sands’ t-shirt, darted around the room compelling both the public and the panel to consider safeguarding our economy and promoting our natural resources.
And he has a point. We must strive towards balanced carbon policy, whereby both the economy and the environment are protected and supported. It is clear that more comprehensive carbon pricing is coming to Alberta in some shape or form. What we must do now is design this carbon price in a way that stimulates a robust economy by making it revenue neutral, and refunding every dollar raised to lower taxes on income and businesses here in Alberta.
Too often, political conversations on these issues are caught between action, at any economic cost, and inaction, no matter the environmental impacts. If we want a smart system that reconciles these two important sectors – the economy and the environment - we have to speak up. As we all know, pots of money can be quite tempting to governments, and how the province uses it's carbon revenue impacts the economy. Refunding the revenue back to Albertans with tax cuts/credits is the most market-friendly and economically efficient choice.
Canadians for Clean Prosperity working with the climate change advisory panel, and advocating for a revenue-neutral carbon fee – but we need your help! Sign our petition and tell Premier Notley to choose a system that protects the economy and the environment. Together, we can restore the Alberta Advantage.