{"id":146334,"date":"2023-11-12T14:39:55","date_gmt":"2023-11-12T19:39:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/rwddev\/?p=146334"},"modified":"2023-11-14T09:13:27","modified_gmt":"2023-11-14T14:13:27","slug":"trudeau-blinks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/trudeau-blinks\/","title":{"rendered":"Listen Up! Trudeau blinks on climate change: A guest post by Dave Wilkin | Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hugh Mackenzie is taking a break from Listen Up! This is a guest commentary by Dave Wilkin.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/broadstreet-zone><\/strong><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has blinked on his signature file, climate change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After eight years of trumpeting his commitment and actions to become a world leader in reducing emissions, the centerpiece of his climate change plan, his carbon tax, has been compromised, undermined by a panicked move to shore up cratering Liberal support in Atlantic Canada. Exempting emissions-intensive heating oil for three years from the carbon tax mostly benefits Atlantic provinces.  Only three percent of Canadian households heat with oil, but in Atlantic Canada, it\u2019s up to 40 percent. The cry-outs of unfairness from other provinces\/territories & opposition parties with calls for exemptions for much cleaner-burning natural gas and propane grow louder. Good grief, what did they expect?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In announcing this news, Trudeau also said they were \u201cdoubling down\u201d on commitments to fight climate change. Seriously? He pointed to more incentives for heat pumps in Atlantic Canada and doubled the rebates for rural residents. Why did he wait until now? Looks like more attempts to shore up his sinking poll numbers<\/span><\/a>. Yet despite the growing pressure, he has flatly stated that there will be no more carve-outs from the carbon tax.  But the precedent is now set, and Canadians can see securing votes and protecting Liberal seats trumps all else. Rural Economic Development Minister Gudie Hutchings<\/span><\/a> even said that if Western and Prairie provinces want to get carbon pricing carve-outs, they should elect more Liberal ministers. So much for Trudeau\u2019s populist slogan \u2018putting a price on pollution\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what progress has Trudeau made on reducing emissions from fossil fuels? According to the Energy Institute\u2019s 2023 Energy Statistical Review<\/span><\/a>, we find progress has been underwhelming, falling just 6 percent since Trudeau became Prime Minister, leaving the primary energy share from fossil fuels unchanged at 65 percent. Looks like Trudeau\u2019s carbon tax thus far has been a bust. It has however been successful in contributing to rising costs across the economy, the financial impacts of which far exceed the Climate Action Incentive Payments for the average household. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at the global picture, again from the Energy Institute\u2019s 2023 Statistical Review, we see emissions from combustion continue to rise to new heights, following a steep decline in 2020 due to the pandemic impacts. In 2022 they rose in both non-OECD countries (66 percent global emission share) and OECD countries (34 percent share).  Even in the EU, where almost all of the countries with material carbon pricing reside<\/span><\/a>, emissions dropped a tiny \u00bd percent in 2022, with much of that drop due to energy cutbacks in response to Russian energy import cuts.  Decades of rising fuel taxes and increasingly restrictive regulations have still left fossil fuels comprising over 70 percent of their primary energy and leaving over 50 percent<\/span><\/a> of all their energy imported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Replacing today\u2019s fossil fuel-based energy system will take a lot of time, huge capital investments, and more innovation. The pace of the transition will be determined primarily by countries\u2019 economic capabilities. Driving up the cost of fossil fuels with high taxes and restricting domestic supply through excessive regulation is fraught with problems and risks. Outside of the energy-insecure EU, and now Canada, no country is following that path. The reality is that fossil fuels remain a necessity, as affordable alternatives are just not available for most households today. Government incentives and subsidies help, but they are limited by government fiscal realities. An energy transition has to happen, but it won\u2019t be fast enough to achieve ambitious net zero targets, and thus the need for much more climate change impact mitigation investment. Much of this seems to elude the Trudeau government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a previous Doppler commentary, I wrote that the \u2018winds of change\u2019 were blowing for PM Trudeau<\/span><\/a>. With the flip-flop on his carbon tax, we can see how desperate this Liberal government has become.  I am now more convinced that the time left for PM Trudeau\u2019s leadership is quickly shrinking. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Dave Wilkin<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Dave Wilkin is a Professional Engineer, with a master\u2019s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto. His career spans over 40 years in Information Technology, banking, energy, and consulting. A former resident of Huntsville, Ontario, he now lives in Burlington but still spends time at his Huntsville area cottage.<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/broadstreet-zone>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hugh Mackenzie is taking a break from Listen Up! This is a guest commentary by Dave Wilkin. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has blinked on his signature file, climate change. After […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":146338,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-146334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nListen Up! 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