Canuck Politics

The five federal party leaders debate the election issues in the English language debate.

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Tags: 2008 federal election, Afghanistan, carbon market, carbon tax, Conservative Party, economy, Elizabeth May, environment, foreign affairs, George Bush, Gilles Duceppe, Green Party, greenhouse gas, healthcare, immigration, Jack Layton, Kyoto Accord, law & order, leaders debate, Liberal Party, majority government, minority government, national unity, NDP, new Canadians, political fundraising, recession, Stéphane Dion, Stephen Harper, US financial crisis

Liberal leader Stéphane Dion announced details of the Liberal Party’s Green Shift carbon tax at a party rally in Ottawa.

The plan includes a tax on carbon emissions against big polluters with tax cuts and rebates for individuals intended to offset increased energy prices caused by the tax.

Dion later challenged Harper to a public debate saying he wants a substantive discussion on the issue.

Links:

• Liberal Party website: The Green Shift
• Video: Conservatives attack Dion’s carbon ‘tax shift’ plan
• Video: Harper promotes Canada’s emission reduction plan in Europe
• Video: Stéphane Dion proposes carbon ‘tax shift’

Tags: carbon tax, climate change, environment, Green Shift, greenhouse gas, Stéphane Dion, taxes, US financial crisis

Prime Minister Harper promotes Canada’s plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions at the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce in London, England.

Links:

• Canada’s Environment Plan: Turning the Corner Regulatory Framework
• Video: Stéphane Dion proposes carbon ‘tax shift’
• Video: Stephen Harper’s economic plan

Tags: carbon market, climate change, economy, environment, greenhouse gas, oil sands, Stephen Harper, UK, US financial crisis, USA

September 7, 2007 - Stephen Harper says Canada will be a world leader in the fight against global warming and in the development of clean energy technology.

Harper chose climate Change as the topic of his address to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Sydney, Australia. He stressed the need for an inclusive approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions that involves all countries working toward common targets.

We want to be a world leader in the fight against global warming and the development of clean energy technology, we want to lead not by lecturing but by example, we want to share our knowledge and experience, and we want to work with the entire international community in the quest for clean energy.

Harper outlined Canada’s approach, saying the plan could be model for a new international agreement. Canada has set mandatory targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 18% per unit of production over the next 3 years, and then a further 2% reduction in intensity each year after that.

While the short-term targets are intensity-based, Harper says the plan will produce absolute reductions beginning in 2010, leading to a 20% reduction from 2006 levels by 2020, and a 50-70% reduction by 2050.

In addition to mandatory targets, Canada’s climate change plan includes a domestic carbon market and emissions trading regime, a Clean Technology Fund, and the use of international credits such as the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism.

APEC leaders agreed to common “aspirational targets” at the close of the summit the following day, representing the first time both the United States and China have participated in an international climate change declaration. However, the decalaration quickly rejected by environmental groups for not including legally binding targets.

Links:

• Transcript: Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Address to the APEC Business Summit
• Key Points of APEC’s Sydney Declaration on Climate Change

Tags: APEC, climate change, environment, greenhouse gas, Stephen Harper