The futility of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s carbon tax — increasing by 23% on April 1 — was demonstrated yet again on Friday when the International Energy Agency announced global industrial greenhouse gas emissions reached a record high in 2023.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
Emissions rose to 37.2 billion tonnes last year, an increase of 410 million tonnes, or 1.1%, from 36.8 billion tonnes in 2022, the previous high.
More significantly, this means the drop in global emissions in 2020 because of the world-wide recession caused by the first year of the pandemic — when emissions fell by 1.9 billion tonnes, or 5.2%, from 36.3 billion tonnes in 2019 to 34.4 billion tonnes in 2020 — was a mere blip on the radar.
Since then, emissions have increased every year, to 36.3 billion tonnes in 2021, 36.8 billion tonnes in 2022 and 37.2 billion tonnes in 2023.
They are now 8.1% higher than the were in 2020.
While the rate of annual increases in global emissions has slowed over the past decade, the United Nations’ latest target to reduce emissions in 2030 by 43% compared to 2019 levels is a fantasy.
Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns.
By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of The Winnipeg Sun's Daily Headline News will soon be in your inbox.
We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again
Global emissions in 2019 were 36.3 billion tonnes.
That means the UN target for 2030 is 20.7 billion tonnes of emissions, compared to 37.2 billion tonnes last year.
The idea the global economy could survive a 16.5 billion tonne cut in emissions in 2030 compared to 2023 is preposterous given the human suffering a recession of that magnitude needed to achieve it would cause.
Emissions in the first year of the pandemic, remember, fell only 1.9 billion tonnes.
Why is all this significant to Canada?
Because as parliamentary budget officer Yves Giroux has explained:
“Canada’s own emissions (1.5% of the global total) are not large enough to materially impact climate change. Consequently, Canada’s primary means of limiting the economic costs of climate change are through participation in a globally coordinated emissions reduction regime.”
But emissions globally are going up and among the primary reasons are China, the world’s largest emitter, where they rose by 565 million tonnes in 2023, and India, up 190 million tonnes.
Given the global increase in emissions of 410 million tonnes in 2023, China and India alone wiped out more than all of the reductions in the U.S. and Europe.
Canada’s emissions in 2021 (the latest government data available) were 670 million tonnes, up 1.8% from 2020.
Trudeau’s carbon tax will increase to $80 per tonne of emissions on April 1, up from $65 per tonne, on its way to $170 per tonne in 2030.
That will raise the price of gasoline by 17.6 cents per litre on April 1, up from 14.3 cents per litre, on its way to 37.4 cents per litre in 2030.
The cost of natural gas, widely used for home heating in Canada, will increase by 15.25 cents per cubic metre, up from 12.39 cents per cubic metre, on its way to 32.4 cents per cubic metre in 2030.
It total, the cost of 22 forms of fossil fuel energy will increase on April 1. That’s why the carbon tax raises the cost of almost everything, because fossil fuel energy is used to create almost all goods and services.
The Trudeau government claims 80% of households paying the carbon tax end up better off financially because of rebates.
But the PBO says when the negative impact of the carbon tax on the economy is factored in, 60% of households pay more in carbon taxes than they receive in rebates, rising to 80% in Nova Scotia in 2025, 80% in Ontario in 2026, 80% in Manitoba in 2029 and 80% in Alberta and P.E.I. in 2030.
Here are the PBO’s estimated average net costs (after rebates) for households under the federal carbon tax system as of April 1, followed by the estimated net cost in 2030:
Alberta $911, $2,773; Ontario: $627, $1,820; Saskatchewan $525, $1,723; Manitoba $502, $1,490; Nova Scotia $537, $1,513; P.E.I $550, $1,521; Newfoundland and Labrador $377, $1,316.
(Quebec and B.C. have federally-approved provincial plans. New Brunswick is excluded because it joined the federal system after the PBO estimated costs. The federal carve-out on home heating oil will reduce costs in Atlantic Canada.)
The bottom line is Canada — where our emissions don’t materially impact climate change — is relying on the UN plan to reduce global emissions, while they keep going up.
Given all this, the idea Canadians are going to experience less severe weather by paying Trudeau’s carbon tax is absurd.
Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Andrew Mitrovica
Mort Laitner
Nikkei Editorial
Rami G Khouri
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
visit website
