CARBON PRICING SUMMIT
Peter Love
Adjunct Professor, Sustainable Energy Initiative
York University
AESP June 8, 2017
HIGHLIGHTS OF OPENING
COMMENTS
• Find positive way to speak about carbon
• George Marshall “Don’t even Think About It”
• Dan Kahan, Cultural Cognition Project, Yale
• Existing buildings – 75% of stock by 2030
• Important Co-benefits of GHG
• reduced air pollution esp in China/India
• Collaboration – Great to hear IESO/Enbridge joint
projects
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CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENCE
101
According to Jim Handman, former producer of CBC Quirks
& Quarks:
• It’s warming
• It’s us
• We’re sure
• It’s bad
• We can fix it
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OUTLINE
• 3 numbers
• 2 graphs
• 5 questions
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CLIMATE CHANGE IN
CANADA
81% of Canada’s man-made GHG
from production and use of energy
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2/3 ENERGY WASTED!
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BENEFITS OF
CONSERVATION IN
CANADA
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CARBON PRICING
•Supported by environmentalists, NRTEE and even CCCE
•BC leading North America with carbon tax
•Energy taxes big part of Denmark’s success
•Could be either carbon tax (price known but quantity not) or
cap and trade (quantity known but price unknown)
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Two Main Approaches
Carbon Tax
Fix price
Market determines
quantity
Cap & Trade
Fix quantity
Market determines price
QUESTION 1 – WHAT TO DO
WITH THE $$
BC
• revenue neutral
• personal/business taxes reduced by
amount collected
Ont
• used to fund new programs
• $8 bil over next 4 years
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QUESTION 2 – ROLE OF
INCENTIVES IN MARKET
TRANSFORMATION
• Right level – Goldilocks
• 25 – 50 -75 -100?
• What happens when removed
• Was market transformed
• How to design programs to transform markets
• Nrcan’s 5 A’s
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QUESTION 3 –
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
VOLUNTARY PROGRAMS
AND MANDATORY CODES
• Can be complementary
• Condensing gas furnaces
• EnerGuide 80 homes
• Appliances
• Challenge is that they are often responsibility of different
Ministries (Energy, Housing, Environment)
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QUESTION 4 – HOW DO WE
CHANGE TO A CULTURE OF
CONSERVATION
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SUMMAREY OF LESSONS
LEARNED FROM PAST
BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
INITIATIVES
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Charismatic Leadership – from organizations, individuals and
politicians
Irrefutable evidence
Clear, simple, compelling, consistent messaging and supportive
media
Leave compromising to government (this is their role)
Focus on the issue
“Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it” Saul
Alinski Rules For Radicals # 13 (of 13)
Don’t be afraid to start small
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed
citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that
ever has” Margret Mead
QUESTION 5
• How to overcome barriers to having
electric and natural gas distribution
utilities work together
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DISCUSSION
Peter Love
Adjunct Professor
Sustainable Energy Initiative
York University
[email protected]
www.yorku.ca/se
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