Report questions Canada’s ‘politicization’ of climate change policy options

OTTAWA – A new report says a fragmented approach to carbon policy by Ottawa and the provinces could result in higher costs.

And the study by the International Institute for Sustainable Development suggests anti carbon-tax rhetoric from the federal Conservative government won’t help the process of harmonizing policies with the provinces.

The Canadian-based institute has some good news in its year-in-review report, stating there was finally more action than talk on federal carbon policy in 2012.

But the Conservative decision to go with a complex, sector-by-sector regulation of emissions while provinces experiment with cap-and-trade systems and carbon taxes makes for a confusing patchwork of policies.

The Harper government has pounded away for months at a proposed NDP cap-and-trade policy to limit greenhouse gas emissions that Conservatives claim is a “job-killing carbon tax.”

The sustainable development institute says the public must be persuaded to accept a price on carbon if emissions targets are going to be met.