In advance of a meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and fellow premiers, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley unveiled the details of the province’s Climate Leadership Plan on November 22, 2015. The plan, which is based on the advice of the Climate Change Advisory Panel (the Panel, led by Dr. Andrew Leach), will also be promoted by Premier Notley at the United Nations Climate Change conference that will take place in Paris from November 30 to December 11, 2015.
Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan accelerates the province’s transition from coal to renewable electricity sources and sets an emissions limits of 100 megatonnes for the oil sands with provisions for new upgrading and co-generation (the level of current emissions from the oil sands is approximately 70 megatonnes). To ensure that the policy is progressive and protects the competitiveness of Alberta’s core industries, the Panel has recommended a consumer credit which will offset the impact of the policy for households and allocations of emissions credits for industrial emitters. A copy of the Panel’s Report to the Minister, which was also released on November 22nd, is available Leadership Report Online.
Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan sets out the following policy objectives:
Carbon Pricing
Carbon pricing provides the backbone of the Panel’s proposed policy architecture. Alberta will phase in carbon pricing in two steps:
o $20/tonne economy-wide in January 2017.
o $30/tonne economy-wide in January 2018.
The Panel has also proposed that the existing Specified Gas Emitters Regulation be replaced by a Carbon Competitiveness Regulation in 2018, which would:
a) broaden the carbon pricing signal in Alberta to cover approximately 90% of the province’s emissions, up from less than 50% today;
b) provide a consumer rebate to mitigate the impacts of carbon pricing on low- and middle-income Albertans, fund complementary emissions-abatement programs and, where applicable, support a sound and just transition for labour and communities and strategies to protect small- and medium-sized businesses;
c) improve the mechanism by which trade-exposed industries are protected to ensure their competitiveness while encouraging and rewarding top performance;
d) increase stringency at the same pace as peer and competing jurisdictions; and
e) avoid the transfer of wealth outside of Alberta.
Electricity and Renewables
• Alberta will phase out all pollution created by burning coal and transition to more renewable energy and natural gas generation by 2030.
• Three principles will shape the coal phase-out: (i) maintaining reliability; (ii) providing reasonable stability in prices to consumers and business; and (iii) ensuring that capital is not unnecessarily stranded.
• Two-thirds of coal-generated electricity will be replaced by renewables – primarily wind power – while natural gas generation will continue to provide firm base load reliability.
• Renewable energy sources will comprise up to 30 per cent of Alberta’s electricity production by 2030.
Methane Reduction
• In collaboration with industry, environmental organizations, and affected First Nations, Alberta will implement a methane reduction strategy to reduce emissions by 45% from 2014 levels by 2025.
Revenue Neutral
• One-hundred per cent of proceeds from carbon pricing will be reinvested in Alberta.
• A portion of collected revenues will be invested directly into measures to reduce pollution (including clean energy research and technology), green infrastructure (such as public transit), and programs to help Albertans reduce their energy use.
• Other revenues will be invested in an adjustment fund that will help individuals and families make ends meet; provide transition support to small businesses, First Nations, and people working in affected coal facilities.
Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan is expected to reduce emissions from current trends by approximately 20 Mt by 2020, and approximately 50 Mt by 2030. This would roughly stabilize emissions, by 2030, just above current levels at approximately 270 Mt.