It’s good to see Stephane Dion being consistent for a change.
Those in the mainstream media are having trouble swallowing the contradiction of Dion transitioning from being the most vehement critic of carbon taxes, to being the poster boy for them now.
But at least Dion is being consistent today – consistent in letting people know that his carbon tax, “won’t get the job done.”
Speaking to the editorial board of the Sun papers, Dion candidly admitted: "I'm confident we will have significant reductions. I'm not telling you specific numbers because you would not trust me."
An interesting statement which begs an interesting question: Why would no one trust Dion on GHG reductions?
Is it because he “didn’t get the job done” when he was environment minister?
Is it because this is the fourth environment plan he launched in four years?
Is it because he flip-flopped on supporting Jack Layton’s cap and trade system in favour of a carbon tax?
It might be those things, but it’s really about this: it’s just impossible to give any specific numbers on emissions reductions because you can’t put specific targets or caps on emissions with a carbon tax. It’s like using a banana to open a beer bottle. It's not what it's designed to do.
That’s why the Green Shift doesn’t say how much GHGs are going down, only how much prices are going to go up.
But at least Dion’s being consistent: and that’s why he knows people won’t trust his numbers.
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2 comments:
It is worth noting that while one can set a specific cap on GHG emissions under a cap and trade systems ensuring that emissions do not rise above the cap is another matter altogether.
Also I think everyone realizes that a $40 per tonne tax isn't enough to reduce our GHG emissions to the levels science tells us we must, but the Liberal carbon tax IS a step in the right direction.
The name of the game is "reduce emissions based on targets" -- it has been since Rio in 1990.
Dion has admitted many times now that his carbon tax can't do that.
After 15 years of failure and inaction, Canada needs to play catch up. This is too important to get wrong, and by his own admission, Dion's carbon tax has got it all wrong.
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