Tell the government of Ontario you want an effective climate change plan!

[felixculpas]

Make your voice heard!

 

[mknox]

I am skeptical that Cap and Trade / Carbon taxes are effective and the way to go. I have not seen any evidence that the Ontario government ever did an effectiveness analysis on the program to determine if the programs were cost effective or not. Even California, who have already exceeded their Paris reduction goals, says that the Cap and Trade regime was of little consequence and that they got their biggest bang through regulation. I think that is what we need here in Ontario. Things like ZEV standards, building code improvements, bans or restrictions on certain types of materials and so forth.

 

[felixculpas]

I am an outlier, being a fan of cap and trade which will likely never come back to Ontario at this point. Not a fan of carbon taxes which is being heralded as the great answer by many groups and political parties. I would definitely take regulations (properly administered) over carbon taxes.

Cap and trade had/has issues but it was having a positive effect and now we are losing valuable time debating what is best again.

Analyzing the effectiveness can be tricky, for sure. So many competing interests, studies and politics.

If regulation is the biggest bang, so be it but I'm not convinced that alone is the answer, esp regarding the transportation sector.

Regulation has good long term benefits but I feel we need to be doing something immediately and some regulations wouldn't start having an effect (such as building code improvements, when passed) for some time.

We should be mandating a phase-out of fossil fuels for transportation by a certain date but that's not going to happen in Ontario under the PC's.

I also worry that with regulations, some polluters will take their business (problem) elsewhere which then has no effect on global warming. Unless you mitigate their involvement but then that compromises things.

I believe a comprehensive plan would be ideal and one that engages people to make changes in how/where they live (net zero homes) and move about (EV's), along with stricter regulations.

However I'm no expert in these matters, just frustrated that so little is being done...

 

[felixculpas]

California project paid for by cap and trade.

Sunrun is bringing 100 megawatts of rooftop solar to low-income communities

 

[mknox]

California project paid for by cap and trade.

Yeah, California does fund projects with C&T revenues, but from what I understand, they are largely low impact projects that have not had a great impact on actual carbon reduction. Funding solar for low income housing is good, but the amount of carbon offset for the money spent is not.

Don't get me wrong... I am all for decarbonization efforts but also feel it should been done in a financially sound manner with quantifiable, measurable results.

People say C&T was having a positive effect in Ontario. Was it? I don't know. I never saw a single unbiased effectiveness analysis done by the previous government telling us one way or the other. Certainly lots of "feel-good" stuff, and I myself took advantage of the EV rebates no less than 3 times, but was that money well spent? How much free-ridership exists in the EV rebate programs? I have no idea.

This is why I am leaning more towards regulatory efforts. Some say Canada should break with US vehicle emission standards since the US has decided to freeze at the current levels and not proceed with the second tranche of efficiency standards. Maybe we should. The only way it would work, as far as I can see, would mean automakers may have to eliminate or reduce truck/SUV sales here and only sell compact ICE cars and EVs. Canadians would balk for sure, but there is no doubt it would have a measurable impact.

 

[nwdiver]

Things like ZEV standards, building code improvements, bans or restrictions on certain types of materials and so forth.

The problem with those programs is that they're prone to favoritism... like CARBs love of Hydrogen vehicles for example. There's a reason market forces usually achieve the best results. There's currently a market failure. Internalize the external cost of carbon and let the market work.