Advertisement

Lack of congruency among premiers at climate change summit

A polar bear walks on an ice floe in this file photo. Not all of Canada's premiers see eye-to-eye when it comes to climate change. AP Photo / NOAA, Kathy Crane

Not all Canadian premiers agree on the best strategy to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions.

Global News obtained a draft of the premiers’ declaration at the Climate Change Summit in Quebec City on Tuesday showing the section on carbon pricing was crossed out.

The document lists the commitments made by the premiers to “lower-carbon economy” but it has a line through a sentence dealing with the issue of carbon pricing. The eliminated section of the joint declaration states: The Premiers…commit to … “put a price on carbon or adopt other structuring initiatives to reduce GHG [green house gas] emissions in the transition to a lower carbon economy.”
Global News obtained a draft of the premiers’ declaration at the Climate Change Summit in Quebec City on Tuesday showing the section on carbon pricing was crossed out. Global News

The Quebec Climate Change Summit comes a day after Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced that her province would join the cap-and-trade system with Quebec and California. The two provinces agreed to work together with industry to create a permit system for greenhouse gas emissions. Companies that exceed their quota will have to pay for carbon credits from businesses that emit less.

Story continues below advertisement

Another section in the joint declaration was edited to water down a section promoting energy efficiency and the use of clean and renewable energy.

A source told Global News that it was the Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Paul Davis who wanted to exclude the section on carbon pricing. Global News tried contacting Premier Davis’ office but was unable to get a response prior to deadline.

The summit in Quebec is a shared effort by the provinces to prepare the country for the upcoming United Nations climate change conference in December. The federal government did not attend the summit.

Read the full document below:

Sponsored content

AdChoices