Law Times

PAGE 10 An online resource 1.800.263.3269 Focus On ENERGY LAW / ENVIRONMENTAL LAW Stop waiting for U.S., federal agency says Report calls for interim measures as provinces take lead on climate change BY ROBERT TODD Law Times C anada's National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy says it's time for the country to stop waiting for the United States to get its act together and instead undertake a phased-in approach to climate-change policy before getting too far behind on emissions reduc- tions and losing economic competitiveness. Th e agency's recent report on the issue calls for a "transitional policy option" con- sisting of four components: contingent car- bon pricing that would establish a Canadi- an limit at no more than $30 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent above the U.S. price; a national cap-and-trade system that includes auctioned permits and revenue re- cycling to cap emissions and deal with con- cerns from specifi c regions and industries; limited international permits and domes- tic off sets that would aim to keep carbon prices lower for Canadian companies; and a fund set up to spur investment in tech- nologies designed to reduce emissions. Agency chairman Bob Page suggested federal government's plans to introduce new regulations for industrial emitters. "Canadians tend to get their hackles up whenever they hear terms like 'harmonize' or 'align' in the same sentence as 'United States,'" Kent quipped in a January speech to the Economic Club of Canada. "But however much we may growl about it, when it comes to meaningful work on the environment — and climate change in par- ticular — there is no practical alternative." Jean Piette, the Montreal-based chair- There's no reason why Canada can't get a head start on climate change in advance of regional action, says Lisa DeMarco. in an executive summary to the report that the recommendations constitute a crucial interim measure in a pressing area of public policy. "Common cause in developing and implementing eff ective and realistic climate policies that meet stat- ed greenhouse gas emission reduction targets makes sense," wrote Page. "But that cause must truly be 'common,' and Canada and Canadians may need to consider — sooner rather than later — a transitional policy option instead." Lisa DeMarco, a partner at Macleod Dixon LLP, says the roundtable's suggestions make sense from an energy, productivity, and trade perspective as opposed to just an environmental regulation standpoint. "What it really argues for — and what I think the next logical step is — is to approach things like the [European Union] as a regional economic integration unit," says DeMarco. "But there's no reason why Can- ada can't benefi t from a head start in certain areas or why the two countries can't co-ordinate, for example, on early off set policies and really start emission reduc- tion projects going into any mandatory regime." Some Canadian provinces have already taken note of the urgency. Th e country's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, Alberta, has legislated its own regulatory sys- tem. British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, and Que- bec have all joined the Western Climate Initiative in a signal of their commitment to take aggressive steps toward combating emissions. Meanwhile, DeMarco suggests Canada's tenuous federal electoral situation will make it diffi cult to cre- ate a nationwide cap-and-trade system. Th at's why a bottom-up approach, with the federal government eventually coming in to co-ordinate harmonization once all provinces have created their own systems, likely makes the most sense. "Politically, that might be a lot more feasible in the short term when we're looking at six years of successive minority governments and elections on a very regular basis," says DeMarco. At the same time, federal Environment Minister Peter Kent has to this point rejected a national cap- and-trade system. However, he recently disclosed the man of Ogilvy Renault LLP's environ- mental team, believes the agency's rec- ommendations, if adopted, would put Canada's economy in a stronger position to achieve emission reduction goals over the long term. Industry, he notes, "will already have been taking measures by, for example, mak- ing technological changes or other measures that are available to reduce carbon emis- sions. Th e message makes full sense. It's a message which does not encourage apathy, does not encourage immobilism. It encour- ages moving forward and thinking and hav- ing industry take measures." Piette also praises the Western Climate Initiative that in addition to the four Canadian prov- inces includes seven U.S. states. In July, the group re- leased its plan to reduce emissions while at the same time boosting the development of clean-energy tech- nologies and strengthening member economies. Th e strategy aims to reduce regional emissions to 15 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020. It plans to get there primarily through the establishment by January 2012 of a regional cap-and-trade system composed of mem- ber jurisdictions' own programs. Th e group estimates the plan will produce cost savings of approximately US$100 billion by 2020. Members are to produce their individual climate plans in the months ahead. "On both sides of the border, you're going to have a carbon market," says Piette. "You're going to have industry on both sides of the border that are going to participate in this carbon market. I think there are go- ing to be greenhouse gas emission [reductions] achieved through this regional compact. . . . I think it's about the only real thing that's moving with respect to acting on climate change in North America right now." Key Developments in Environmental Law 2010 Editor-in-Chief: Stanley D. Berger Follow the continuing shift of the legal climate towards going "green" This collection of timely, insightful and judicious articles is written by a cross-section of highly qualified environmental law practitioners from across Canada. Articles include: • Legislative Initiatives to Modernize the Environmental Approvals Process • New Disclosure Obligations in the Federal Environmental Enforcement Act May Undermine Meaningful Disclosure • Brownfields Reform in Ontario • The MiningWatch Canada "Red Chris" Case: The Minimum Scope for a Major Project • The Continuing Uncertainty over the Applicability of Provincial Environmental Law to Nuclear Facilities canadalawbook.ca LT1122 For a 30-day, no-risk evaluation call: 1.800.565.6967 Canada Law Book, a Thomson Reuters business. Prices subject to change without notice, to applicable taxes and shipping & handling. www.lawtimesnews.com • "Fairness" Principle Overturned by Environmental Review Tribunal — The Pendulum Swings Yet Again • Action and Reaction: The Coordination of Canada-U.S. Climate Policy by Tyson Dyck and Dennis E. Mahony ... and more! Order your copy today! Hardbound • 220pp. • October 2010 • $115 P/C 0152010000 • ISSN 1913-0252 March 28, 2011 • Law TiMes b y Jack C oop and Jennif er F air f ax b y John b y D T idball an Kirb y , Andr e w MacD b ougall and Jennif y R b y Jac que s L av ober a oie and Lis t Fishl e Thiel er F ock b air f ax y Ian Richl er

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