Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada reaffirms its staunch advocacy for carbon pricing as an effective tool in the fight against climate change. Responding to prevalent criticisms, the organization underscores the pivotal role of carbon pricing in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, driving innovation, and safeguarding economic competitiveness.
Since September 2010, Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteers have been working towards a livable world. From 2010 to 2018, they expanded to over 100 ridings, lobbied parliamentarians 939 times, and garnered 2895 media hits in newspapers. On their thirteenth lobbying effort in Ottawa, luck was on their side. On October 16, 2018, just before PM Trudeau’s announcement that it would no longer be free to pollute in Canada, now-retired Senator Grant Mitchell said to them, “You are one of the most successful lobbying groups I have worked with because you are about to get what you lobbied for.”
Citizens’ Climate Lobbyists are everyday citizens who relay expert information to their communities and their politicians. The following information is from the recent Open Letter from Economists on Canadian Carbon Pricing which has currently been signed by approximately 200 Canadian economists and growing.
Carbon pricing has proven instrumental in curbing emissions while maintaining economic viability. Since the inception of federal carbon pricing in 2019, Canada has witnessed a notable decrease of almost 8 percent in GHG emissions, with projections indicating that carbon pricing will contribute substantially to emissions reductions by 2030.
Evidence from the Bank of Canada indicates that carbon pricing has a negligible impact on overall inflation. Factors such as disruptions from climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions have primarily influenced inflation rates. Moreover, the majority of carbon-pricing revenues are rebated to households, ensuring that most Canadians are economically unburdened by the policy.
The combination of carbon pricing and rebates provides a dual incentive for emission reduction while safeguarding households’ purchasing power. By rewarding emission reduction efforts with rebates, the policy encourages environmentally conscious behaviour without unduly burdening consumers.
Canada’s carbon pricing framework is designed to promote emission reduction without compromising business competitiveness. Through an output-based pricing system, industries are incentivized to adopt low-carbon practices while remaining economically viable in the global marketplace.
While alternatives exist, carbon pricing remains the most cost-effective means of reducing emissions and fostering green innovation. Abandoning carbon pricing would entail higher costs and fail to offer a comparable solution to combat climate change.
“Over the past few months, there has been a lot of push back against carbon pricing, with critics claiming it significantly contributes to inflation and the affordability crisis,” says Kaitlyn McDonald, member of Parry Sound – Muskoka Chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada. “However, when the Bank of Canada explored the impact of carbon pricing on inflation in September 2023, they found that it is not a driver of inflation as it only contributed to 0.15% of rising costs. Carbon pricing has been designed to cut carbon emissions while targeting affordability concerns for middle and lower income Canadians. In contrast, as climate change continues to progress, it will exacerbate affordability issues. We need effective climate change policies like the carbon tax if we want to effectively address present and future affordability concerns.”
The Climate Action Network Canada is an umbrella group for over 200 climate organizations. Here is an excerpt from their recent open letter, “The carbon price serves as an important price signal to consumers and companies, while giving the vast majority of Canadians back more than they pay. Many Canadians have come to depend on the quarterly rebates to meet their basic needs. The government should proceed with the planned April 1st increase in the carbon levy, which will also increase the rebate payments that benefit eight out of ten Canadians.”
For people looking to support carbon pricing they can sign the Parliamentary e-Petition e-4876 here: https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-4876
Submitted by Huntsville resident Kaitlyn McDonald on behalf of Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada, Parry Sound – Muskoka Chapter.
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