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QUEBEC CITY–Despite talk of working together, the annual premiers' conference opened with rival camps in the climate change debate digging in their heels.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty wants a national initiative to build a cleaner, greener car while putting a price on carbon emissions through a "cap-and-trade" system.
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach warns against any new energy taxes and wants to reduce greenhouse gases by capturing carbon and storing it like nuclear waste.
As Canada's premiers began three days of meetings yesterday, there were hopes they could focus on what unites them – hopes that were quickly dashed by differences that seem as intractable as ever.
While Premier Jean Charest was kicking off the event with a carefully choreographed news conference on aboriginal poverty – talking up a point of consensus among the premiers – his counterparts were busily staking their own ground on all matters green in discussions with journalists outside the room.
Stelmach and Saskatchewan's Brad Wall urged the other premiers to resist attempts to tap into their oil wealth to combat global warming. Standing shoulder to shoulder as they met with reporters, the two energy titans predicted carbon taxes or a national cap-and-trade scheme to curb greenhouse gas emissions would hurt the economy.
"The province of Saskatchewan is a `have' province and we intend to stay that way," said Wall, who was elected last November. "We will fight aggressively against any initiative that would redistribute not just wealth but opportunity, and threaten our `have' status," he said.
Stelmach, who last week announced a $2 billion fund for technology for carbon sequestration, said he viewed any carbon taxation as a stealthy way of forcing Albertans to contribute even more of their money to the rest of Canada.
"There is one inter-regional transfer of wealth in this country, it's called equalization, and there won't be another one from the province of Alberta," he said, referring to the national wealth-sharing program.
Wall said that "maybe it's time for a bit of man-on-the-moon type of language from all the leaders in Canada around an investment we can all make in technology," rather than trying to forge an impossible consensus on cap and trade.
He claimed a carbon sequestration project in Weyburn, Sask., has resulted in a reduction equivalent to taking 6.5 million cars off the road, and is an example of how governments can work with industry.
"The point that we're making in Alberta and Saskatchewan is that's action right now, that's doing something about CO{-2} right now. It's not cap-and-trade, it's cap-and-cut," said Wall.
Critics of the carbon capture scheme have said that the technology is largely still unproven. McGuinty said he is only interested in carbon capture and storage if it is done in conjunction with a cap-and-trade system.
Under a cap-and-trade system, government sets a total limit on carbon emissions as well as a cap for each major polluting industry. Industries below their cap can sell emission permits to those that exceed their limit. The intent is to encourage efficiency and conservation by rewarding industries that get below the cap and adding costs to high polluters.
"We've taken a different approach in Ontario," said McGuinty, who last month signed a deal with Charest to open a regional carbon-trading market as early as Jan. 1, 2010.
"Having said that ... more and more responsible environmental organizations ... have come to the realization that carbon capture is going to have to play some role as we address climate change.
"I think there's an opening here for cap-and-trade. One of the things I'm looking forward to talking to Ed about is if you do proceed with carbon capture and that does prove to be successful, there's a possibility to make a bit of money on that through a cap-and-trade system."
McGuinty said there are other ways to invest in environmental technologies than carbon sequestration, which he called an "untried scientific theory." He suggested governments consider "coming together" and funding a cleaner car.
"Even in a bad year here in North America, we sell 15 million cars. We remain the number one auto producer in North America. I'm not giving up that business, so let's produce a cleaner car."
