Ontario’s greenhouse gas plan: Is this Green Energy Act, Round II?

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Ontario’s cap-and-trade system, in contrast, comes with risks. Ontario has all but promised that the money raised by emissions caps will not be used to cut other taxes. Instead, the hundreds of millions or billions raised each year will be “reinvested” in “projects that reduce greenhouse gases and help businesses remain competitive.” In other words, targeted subsidies – the lobbyists’ delight.

mcwynnetyThe Globe and Mail
Monday’s announcement that Ontario is about to take steps to reduce greenhouse gases contained one bit of good news, one serving of bad news – and one giant question mark.

The good news? Ontario plans to put a price on carbon, with the goal of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

The question mark? Ontario’s plan for a cap-and-trade system – which would cap carbon emissions from each sector of the economy, and allow trading of pollution permits – contains few details, including no costs or pricing.

And the bad news? Ontario will not be following in the footsteps of British Columbia – whose carbon tax is Canada’s simplest, cheapest, best carbon-reduction strategy. Cap-and-trade, in contrast, is not transparent, has a distinctly mixed track record and runs the risk of being captured and gamed by powerful interests. Lobbyists, start your engines.

For all of that, Ontario, which is linking up with existing cap-and-trade systems in Quebec and California, could end up building an excellent program. Then again, it could also end up delivering Green Energy Act, Round II. The first incarnation was an industrial strategy camouflaged as a pollution-reduction solution. It doled out hefty subsidies to favoured businesses, paid for by electricity consumers. It was arguably the Liberal government’s biggest mistake. Have they learned from it? Read article

58 thoughts on “Ontario’s greenhouse gas plan: Is this Green Energy Act, Round II?”

  1. ‘[excerpt] MEDIA RELEASE

    Precedent – Ontario Court of Appeal – Turtles vs. Wind Turbines – Slow and Steady Wins

    Toronto – April 20, 2015

    The Ontario Court of Appeal has reversed a lower court ruling regarding a Renewal Energy Approval of the 9 turbine Ostrander Point industrial wind project. The decision reinstates the key initial finding of the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) that serious and irreversible harm to threatened Blanding’s Turtles will occur if the project operates as approved. “We’re very pleased. The court has ruled in favour of protecting the environment, which is what we’ve asked for throughout“ said Myrna Wood of the successful appellant Prince Edward County Field Naturalists. “The decision is undoubtedly important” said Eric Gillespie, its legal counsel. “This is the first renewable energy case to reach the Court of Appeal. The Court has supported our client’s fundamental concerns and affirmed a number of legal principles that clearly will be relevant to other appeals.” The question of remedy has been directed back to the ERT. For further information contact Myrna Wood […] or Eric Gillespie […]’

    Can we get an accounting, in Canadian dollars, of the resources spent on the Ostrander Point wind energy fiasco?

    Reply ↓

    • “Let’s go straight to the farmers”

      Good day:

      As you know, the big-name wind developers are already putting proposals forward for new contracts in Ontario…and they are scrambling to get more farm owners to sign leases.

      Let’s level the playing field!!

      We think an advertisement in Ontario’s premier agricultural paper, the weekly Ontario Farmer, with a message on why wind power is NOT a win-win for everyone, would be very effective.

      The paper goes to 26,000 landowners–we propose a large, professionally designed ad to get that message out.

      Problem: cost. A one-time ad will be about $1,700 (with tax).

      Can we count on you to help out with the cost? It works out to about $17 per turbine that Ontario is going to contract for.

      Send us a cheque to PO Box 11059, 105 Guildwood Parkway, Scarborough ON M1E 1N0 (mark it Ontario Farmer ad)
      or
      send us a donation using PayPal—our payee email is windconcernsONT@gmail.com

      Let’s get the truth out there!!!

      Jane
      Wind Concerns Ontario

      —
      Wind Concerns Ontario is a coalition of individuals and community groups concerned about the negative impacts on health, environment and the economy from industrial-scale wind power generation projects.
      http://www.windconcernsontario.ca

      Reply ↓

  2. The New York Times, April 22, 2015

    ‘A Challenge From Climate Change Regulations’

    “A report issued in February by the Analysis Group, a consulting firm based in Boston, concluded that there were ways for states to avoid blackouts and brownouts during the power transition. The report found, if states were to adopt interstate cap-and-trade plans, along the lines of the program in place in California, they could cut pollution while keeping the lights on.”

    http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/business/energy-environment/a-challenge-from-climate-change-regulations.html

    Analysis Group, Boston

    Economic, financial and strategy consultants company/group.

    Several Canadians are with this company/group.

    http://www.analysisgroup.com

    Reply ↓

  3. Hey Ontario!

    Global Citizen –
    forget you are a Canadian Citizen – in a Free Nation
    – and do your part for – ‘creation’ –
    ……and – forget the ‘creator’!

    ——————————————————————————————————————

    Earth Month 2015
    Earth Month is Every Month

    ‘[excerpt] April is our 45th Anniversary! This years theme is “Our Planet In Peril” There is good reason for your attention to be directed and to act on such an important subject. There are literally hundreds of problems and issues plaguing our global environment, i.e., climate change, global warming and their effects; and the continuation of polluting our delicate ecosystem just to mention a few. So how do we continue to resolve them?

    One of our major goals as a not-for-profit IRS 501(c)(3) PC organization of Earth Month Network, Inc. is to help mobilize grass roots programs: in part to eradicate “Environmental Apathy” by providing needed: Awareness, Knowledge, Education, Stewardship and Activism towards global environmental issues. We are the “original Earth Month” and after 45 years now, there is still much work to be completed. Earth Month is Every Month!

    The theme for last year was premised around “Returning to Nature.” In doing so we explored Sustainability roots and where it is going…. by’
    http://www.earth-month.org/

    Again!
    Global Citizen – forget you are a Canadian Citizen – in a Free Nation
    – and do your part for ‘creation’ – forget the creator.
    http://www.earthday.org/

    Reply ↓

    • ‘[excerpt] Supporters of Vladimir Lenin flocked to Red Square to celebrate the 144th anniversary of the revolutionary’s birthday.’

      —————————————————————————————————–

      Dear reader,

      Due to the increasing number of users engaging in personal attacks, spam, trolling and abusive comments, we are no longer able to host our forum as a site for constructive and intelligent debate.

      It is with regret, therefore, that we have found ourselves forced to suspend the commenting function on our articles.

      The Moscow Times remains committed to the principle of public debate and hopes to welcome you to a new, constructive forum in the future.

      Regards,

      The Moscow Times
      http://www.themoscowtimes.com/multimedia/photogalleries/russia-marks-lenins-144th-birthday/5248.html

      God Bless Canada!

      Reply ↓

  4. Educating!

    ‘[excerpt] So, what’s the motivation of the funders? One of the few documents that provide insights into the funding of the climate movement is a strategy paper, Design to Win: Philanthropy’s Role in the Fight Against Global Warming. According to Design to Win, the overarching goal of voter and consumer education campaigns is to create a policy context for a massive shift in investment capital and a billion-dollar market for renewable energy. Without a negative foil of bad press about fossil fuels, it would be much harder to justify the billions of dollars that government has invested in solar and wind.’

    But nothing on corruption!

    Reply ↓

      • I think you mean the leftist money –
        now caught up in the
        Liberal Agenda – through Social Justice Agenda
        and the Premier of Ontario.

      • Is big oil money leftist? Oil money/influence is clearly involved in this cap-and-trade-agenda that is being foisted upon Ontario and Canada.

      • Hey Barbara,
        What do you mean by – ‘big oil’?

      • Aren’t Exxon Mobil and Suncor big oil?

        Wynne could not get cap-and -trade through with just leftist support. Those on the “right” were also needed to make this look like a consensus.

      • The Suzuki foundation which is represented on the Ecofiscal Commission Canada has received big oil money.

      • Hey Barbara,

        Let’s keep it simple:
        Oil company kills 1 duck – maybe 2 or, maybe 6.
        What’s the fine?

        Wind company kills 1 bird, maybe an eagle, maybe a bat.;
        but who’s kidding who? – we know better.
        What’s the fine?

      • The general public very likely doesn’t even know who is backing cap-and-trade in Canada.

        The public has been led to believe that big oil would not support cap-and-trade.

        CEGN/Canadian Environmental Grantmakers Netowrk
        Scroll down to: Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission Launches

        The Ecofiscal Commission is a self-appointed group.

        Funders for the Ecofiscal Commission:

        Ivey Foundation
        Metcalf Foundation
        Trottier Foundation
        Max Bell Foundation
        J.W. McConnell Family Foundation
        Suncor Energy
        Kool Topp and Guy

        http://www.launchbox-emailservices.ca/mail/display2.aspx?SID=48c2cfe0-3c83-4ad9-bc6b-7702cd1f32b4&N=10107

        Google: CEGN Issues and Updates-email management

      • Canada’s Election Year 2015
        October 19th, 2015
        Vote Conservative!

        Harper vs Trudeau/Dion…..[etc.]
        ——————————————————————————-
        The Commish – of all corruption on the global stage;
        but Trudeau/Dion
        – want federal power,
        and
        ……’fiscal responsibility’?…….not math!

        p.s. The Trudeau/Dion Duo?
        p.p.s. Are they allowed to work in Canada?
        hahahahahaha!
        ——————————————————————————-

        “Pricing carbon at the provincial level is counter-intuitive”

        ‘[excerpt] Eco-friendly. Eco-tourism. Eco-systems. Eco-driving. Umberto Eco. Ooops. Umberto apart, “eco” is everywhere these days. But eco-separatism? That concept sprang to mind while reading a new report from Canada’s Ecofiscal Commission, a group of distinguished Canadian economists (mainly economists though all distinguished) headed up by my friend and McGill colleague, Christopher Ragan.

        The Commission formed itself last year to revive former Liberal leader Stéphane Dion’s “Green Shift”— taxing carbon more and other things less — presumably in the belief that Dion’s rather spectacular failure in the 2008 election, the lowest Liberal popular vote since 1867, was due to factors other than his most important policy proposal. The Commission’s latest report makes several general recommendations, including, as indeed current Liberal leader Justin Trudeau has argued, that the provinces should move forward on pricing carbon and also gradually make their polices, whether carbon tax or cap-and-trade, more stringent.’
        http://business.financialpost.com/fp-comment/william-watson-the-ecofiscal-commissions-proposals-would-pit-provinces-against-each-other-balkanizing-canada
        ——————————————————————————–

        Workshop of Social Science
        Research

        Honourable Stéphane Dion

        Former Minister of Environment and Architect of The Green Shift

        The Environment
        and Democratic Governance

        May 20th, 2015
        9:00 am – 4:30 pm

        ‘[excerpt] As Minister of the Environment from 2004 to 2005, he secured one of the greenest budgets in the history of Canada and contributed to the rescue of the Kyoto Protocol while chairing the UN Conference on Climate Change, held in Montreal in 2005.

        In 2006, having been elected as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and having become Leader of the Official Opposition in the House of Commons, he proposed a visionary plan to make Canada richer, fairer and greener. Following the 2008 election, he retained his seat as Member of Parliament for Saint-Laurent-Cartierville, a seat he has won seven times in a row since 1996.’
        http://www.concordia.ca/events/workshops/wssr/guestlecturers2015/stephanedion.html
        ———————————————————————————–

        Canada’s Election Year 2015
        October 19th, 2015
        Vote Conservative!
        ———————————————————————————–

        p.s. what would Canada look like – under –
        liberal Trudeau leadership?
        p.p.s. Dion/Trudeau – perhaps – Trudeau/Dion

        You can form – your own opinion.
        We know what Ontario looks like –
        under liberal – Premier Social Justice!

      • BEGINNINGS

        “The Genesis of Environmental Protection in Ontario”
        By Environmental Commissioner of Ontario

        http://www.environmentalbeginnings.ca

        Select: “Click to see a list of all stories”

        “How grant-giving foundations helped build Canada’s environment movement”.

        “Canada’s grant-giving foundations played a seminal role in the origins of Canada’s environment movement.”

        There are also other interesting articles on the subject of the Environmental Movement at this website.

      • HEC Montreal, May 14, 2013

        ‘Campus Montreal: $10-million donation to create the Trottier Energy Institute”

        “The Trottier Institute’s mission is to ‘promote the search for solutions to help secure the future of energy in Quebec, Canada and the World’ it takes a systematic and global approach, encompasing the technological, social and economic dimensions of energy-relatedness.”

        http://www.hec.ca/en/news/2013/donation_Trottier_Polytechnique.html

        ————————————————————-

        Institute de D’ Energie-Trottier, Montreal

        Foundation Famille Trottier

        Follow the links to other organizations.

        http://www.polymtl.ca/iet/en/partenaires/index.php

        Quite revealing information on both of these websites.

    • The only thing farmers should be asking themselves – is:
      Does Don McCabe pick his nose – while talking?
      – or is that too draconian?

      Reply ↓

    • Wynne needs farm organizations like the OFA to help provide the needed consensus for cap-and-trade.

      Seems the OFA is willing to provide that needed consensus.

      Reply ↓

  6. Clean Energy Canada, April 2015

    “Inside North America’s Largest Carbon Market”

    Sources for this report:

    Policy Developers:
    Line Beauchamp, Province of Quebec
    Jean Charerst

    Government Policy Advisors
    Claude Cote, Province of Quebec

    Expert Commentators:
    Erick Lachapelle, U. Montreal
    Karen Maynard, Suzuki Foundation & Chair Al Gore’s Climate Project Canada
    Mary Nichols, Chair., California Air Resources Board
    Jean Nolet, Pres. EcoRessources
    Vincent, Pouliot, Gaz Metro
    Hugo Seguin, U. Montreal
    Katie Sullivan, Director, North America & Climate Finance, IETA

    http://www.cleanenergycanada.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/InsideNorthAmericaLargestCarbonMarket_ENGL_Spreads.pdf

    Not all those interviewed are named in this report.

    Cap-and-trade Quebec history.

    Reply ↓

  9. Linkage of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading Systems Resources For The Future, Nov.2013, by M.Ranson & R. Stavins. Later published in the journal “Climate Policy”.

    Prepared for the: Harvard Project On Climate Agreements.

    The agreement between Quebec & California is called a LINKAGE. Now Ontario proposes to enter this LINKAGE agreement.

    LINKAGES can be used when a national/country cap-and-trade is not in place. However, cap-and-trade LINKAGES can be formed among provinces and states without nation-wide agreements being needed.

    http://www.rff.org/RFF/Documents/RFF-DP-13-42.pdf

    Quebec and California are mentioned in this paper.

    NOTE the funding sources!

    Reply ↓

  12. IETA/International Emissions Trading Association

    ITEA, March 28, 2015
    IETA Comments On Ontario’s Climate Change Discussion Paper 2015

    Submitted to: Kathy Hering, Senior Policy Advisor
    Ministry of the Environment & Climate Change (MOECC)
    Air Policy and and Climate Change Branch

    http://www.ieta.member.clicks.neh/assets/OTF/ebr%20012-3452_submission%20on%20ontario%20climate%20change%20discussion%20paper%202015_ieta.pdf

    ———————————————————————————————

    IETA/International Emissions Trading Association, has Toronto Branch

    Directors include:

    Daniele Agostini, Enel
    Arthur Lee, Chevron
    Christine Fedigan, GDF Suez
    David Horn, Shell International Petroleum
    Ed Ma, Suncor Energy Services, Inc.
    Bill Tyndall, Duke Energy

    http://www.ieta.org/governance

    This website has a link to the Ontario Climate Change Discussion Paper.

    Reply ↓

  13. Since Ontario is joining with Quebec in a cap-and-trade agreement it’s handy to know how these cap-and-trade arrangements came to be in both provinces. Then both situations can compared.

    Reply ↓

  14. Hey Barbara,
    Notice the ‘Big’…….

    The Left craves power not money, and that makes it much more frightening.

    ‘[excerpt] One of them is material equality as the preeminent moral goal. Another is the villainy of corporations. The bigger the corporation, the greater the villainy.

    Thus, instead of the devil, the Left has Big Pharma, Big Tobacco, Big Oil, the “military-industrial complex,” and the like. Meanwhile, Big Labor, Big Trial Lawyers, and — of course — Big Government are left-wing angels.

    And why is that? Why, to be specific, does the Left fear big corporations but not big government? The answer is dogma — a belief system that transcends reason.

    No rational person can deny that big governments have caused almost all the great evils of the last century, arguably the bloodiest in history. Who killed the 20 to 30 million Soviet citizens in the Gulag Archipelago — big government or big business? Hint: There were no private businesses in the Soviet Union.

    Who deliberately caused 75 million Chinese to starve to death — big government or big business? Hint: See previous hint. Did Coca-Cola kill 5 million Ukrainians?

    Did Big Oil slaughter a quarter of the Cambodian population? Would there have been a Holocaust without the huge Nazi state? Whatever bad things big corporations have done is dwarfed by the monstrous crimes — the mass enslavement of people, the deprivation of the most basic human rights, not to mention the mass murder and torture and genocide — committed by big governments.

    How can anyone who thinks rationally believe that big corporations rather than big governments pose the greatest threat to humanity? The answer is that it takes a mind distorted by leftist dogma. If there is another explanation, I do not know what it is.

    Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/300669/lefts-misplaced-concern-dennis-prager

    Reply ↓

    • And the liberals hold a majority government
      in Ontario.
      That’s big – because they can do
      anything they want.

      Reply ↓

  15. This is a let’s make a deal situation. The free flow of oil/gas for cap-and-trade. Then throw in the wind along with it.

    The present government needs money and cap-and-trade is any easy way to get the money.

    if you know how cap-and-trade was done in Quebec, then follow events as to how this is now being done in Ontario and this will explain the situation.

    Reply ↓

  17. Center For The NewEnergy Economy, Colorado State University

    People includes:

    Former Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. who is also on the Board of the Energy Foundation, San Francisco.

    Senior Policy Advisor, Patrick Cummins who most recently has been Executive Director of WCI, Inc. which provides technical and administrative services for the implementation of the California and Quebec cap-and-trade program.

    http://www.cnee.colostate.edu/p/people

    Circle around again to the Energy Foundation, San Francisco.

    Reply ↓

  18. Reuters, Sept.7, 2012

    “RPT-Big banks weigh rules, rewards of California’s new CO2 market”

    Major banks included in this article are: Royal Bank of Canada and Scotiabank.

    “Banks facilitate the purchases and sales of carbon credits for their clients, advise company executives on how to keep their costs down, and ultimately help them meet their environmental goals.”

    http://www.reuters.com/search/news?blob=big+banks+and+California%27s+CO2+market

    Reply ↓

  19. Carbon Trade Watch, July 2008
    San Diego, CA

    NGOS Dominate Western Climate Initiative Talks

    Included:
    Environmental Defense Fund/EDF
    National Wildlife Federation
    Sierra Club
    Physicians for Social Responsibility

    http://www.carbontradewatch.org/archive/ngos-dominate-western-climate-initiative-talks-2.html

    ——————————————————————————–

    CEGN/Canadian Environmental Grantmakers Network

    “Callling All Funders: The Role of Philanthropy In Fighting Climate Change, April 2008

    Members of the project’s Review Committee:

    Bruce Laurie, Ivey Foundation, project funder
    Tim Morris, Walter & Duncan Gordon Foundation, project funder
    Amy Panek, Henry P. Kendall Foundation
    Mary Pickering, Toronto Atmospheric Fund

    http://www.cegn.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/CEGN_cc_brief.pdf

    Reply ↓

  20. Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, April 13, 2015

    “Support for Ontario Capping greenhouse Gas Pollution”
    Includes:

    Chris Ragan, Ecofiscal Commission Canada
    Michael McSweeney, Cement Association of Canada
    Don McCabe, OFA
    Louise Comeau, Climate Action Network Canada
    Gideon Forman, CAPE
    Robert Hornung, CanWEA
    John Gorman, CanSIA
    Toby Heaps, Corporate Knights
    Ross McMillan, Tides Canada
    Doris Greenspun, Reg. Nurse’s Association Ontario
    Kieth Brooks, Environmental Defence
    Nathaniel Keghane, VP U.S. Environmental Defense Fund

    http://www.news.ontario.ca/ene/en/2015/04/support-for-ontario-capping-greenhouse-gas-pollution.html

    About says it all!

    Reply ↓

  21. ClimateWorks Foundation, San Francisco, CA
    Mobilizes Philanthropy

    Research Partners include: McKinsey & Company

    http://www.climateworks.org/about-us/partners/research-partners

    ———————————————————————————

    McKinsey & Company with offices in Calgary, Montreal and Toronto

    Dominic Barton, Global Managing Director of McKinsey & Company based in London, and on the Advisory Board of Ecofiscal Commission Canada.

    http://www.mckinsey.com/about_us/who_we_are/dominic-barton

    Also see: Ecofiscal Commission Canada.

    Reply ↓

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