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Campbell's carbon tax praised in Copenhagen

   

Premier Gordon Campbell won recognition in Copenhagen for his government's carbon tax and clean energy mandate.

Campbell accepted his 'Economy Wide Carbon Pricing' award from Tzeporah Berman of PowerUp Canada at a gala last night.

It was presented as part of an awards ceremony, organized by ten of Canada's largest environmental groups, to recognize "acts of climate leadership" by municipal and provincial governments across the country.

The Sierra Club did not participate. George Heyman, executive director of its B.C. chapter, said that while the carbon tax is an important action, the B.C. Liberals have "taken a lot of others that are deeply contradictory."

He pointed out that fuel is exempt from the new HST, but the labour for energy efficient home retrofits is not.

"They're also providing massive subsidies to the oil and gas industry. . . and supporting a massive pipeline to move dirty tar sands oil across B.C.," Heyman said.

Matt Horne of the Pembina Institute said they recognize the "inconsistencies" in B.C.'s climate policies, but the carbon tax is strong enough to stand on its own. When asked whether the carbon tax has demonstrably reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the province, he said "in terms of solid evidence that it's working, I think it's too early to tell."

"Based on all the information we have, those are the types of policies we think we need."

Mayor Gregor Robertson also accepted an award for Vancouver's green initiatives, which include the most ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets in North America and mandated electric car plug-ins in new developments.

The awards were created for the COP 15 climate change conference. Backing organizations include the David Suzuki Foundation, the Ecology Action Centre, Environmental Defence, Équiterre, ForestEthics, the Green Energy Act Alliance, the Pembina Institute, PowerUp Canada, TckTckTck, and WWF Canada.

Colleen Kimmett reports for The Tyee.

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26  Comments:

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  • Skywalker

    3 years ago

    Where does the tax revenue go?

    It's just another tax attached to a promise from a proven liar, endorsed by Borman and Suzuki. A joke. It sure doesn't do much for the credibility of the Copenhagen summit organizers if they are dumb enough to fall for a tax just because you put the word carbon in front of it.

  • freebear

    3 years ago

    Praised as one of the

    greatest misdirections by a politician ever!

    Revenue neutral and zero effectiveness!

    And if you trumpet the carbon tax don't forget to list all the exemptions, and what price would actually cause a reduction in carbon emissions!

    A sham!

    A shameful sham!

  • max von smartt

    3 years ago

    CO2 a building block of life

    While I support getting off of fossil fuels the scientific evidence suggests that CO2 is a minor greenhouse gas, H20 by far superior, and that climatic variation is driven by solar cycles and earth's geothermal dynamics ie underseas volcanoes etc. Carbon taxes are ultimatley another scam by Wall Street and their London Superiors for the Greater Anglo-Amerikan Empire, which lapdog Kanada, Oz and the Kiwis belong to.

  • Janie Jones

    3 years ago

    Backscratchin'

    It's all so cozy. Gordo puts Tzeporah on his Green Energy Advisory Task Force on Resource Development and she gives him an award!

  • seth

    3 years ago

    Cap nTrade

    Read Paul Krugman an actual Nobel Price winner in economics. Agrees with the NDP's election stance that Cap n'Trade is much superior to the carbon tax.

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/opinion/18krugman.html?_r=3

    Need to send that along to Liberal media sellouts and hacks like Jaccard, Hoggan, Pembina, Harcourt, Berman, Da Gucci, and Weaver and now apparently to the Hopenhagen Halfwits.

    Ruined salmon runs, offshore oil drilling, new tanker routes, ruined river beds, and a decimated BCHydro were all worth it for the idiotic green tax.

    Huffington Post even hosts Hoggan's blog like he is a "green" person and will block any comments which dispute his creds.

    His latest blog, denouces Harpo's environmental stance while saying nothing about Canwest/Gordo's - exactly the same.

  • seth

    3 years ago

    Names

    The names of these ten so called "environmental" organizations need to be published and all participation and contributions should be blacklisted.

  • Wilfride Laurier

    3 years ago

    Haha!

    The enemy doth speak, them awful greenies stealin' votes from the True Path NDP.

    Love the invective. Guarantees Campbell a fourth term.

  • Frank

    3 years ago

    Tzeporah Berman

    What a hypocrite.

    But nice to see the Sierra Club's willingness to speak truth to power.

  • EcoCollectivist

    3 years ago

    I'm Sick of Harper!!!

    I am sick of this "Stephen Harper" character, or should I say "Stephen Harpy" the way he is sucking the life out of this country. If any of you feel the same join the protest: Vancouver 2010: Protest Harper's Embarrassing Policies - http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=234328346647

  • Adam M

    3 years ago

    Praise for taxes!

    Why would they praise this tax any more or less than any other tax on necessary costs of living? There's no evidence it works, and it's not as if they're expanding transit to meet potential demand generated by a carbon tax. Meanwhile, Gateway steams ahead, and they're handing out awards!

    What a bunch of fools and liars these big environmental groups are! For con men and shysters like the Liberals, they are that perfect, superficial touch of green to bolster the new leader in 2013, when our rivers have been dammed, the salmon neglected still, old growth logging unabated, apipeline running through the province, and oil tankers off the coast! How convenient these political relationships are!

    Now if Gordo goes, maybe Falcon goes, and someone like Diane Watts steps in, and the NDP doesn't organize (imagine that!), we'll get another four years of Liberal sell offs with a green veneer to trap votes from idiots.

    Good ol' crooked BC.

  • Dan the socialist

    3 years ago

    They really set the bar low

    They really set the bar low don't they?

  • Van Isle

    3 years ago

    What? Did I read this

    What? Did I read this right? You mean a bunch of slicks from BC go over to Denmark, have a party of sorts, then hand out some awards to each other? How much did this lil' junket cost us? Never mind about the Carbon footprint?

  • Luke

    3 years ago

    Carbon Tax... Schmarbon Tax...

    The carbon tax was approved by delegates at the 2007 BC NDP convenvtion. It's useless NDP policy implemented by Gordo and time to get rid of it.

    And reduce the combined GST + PST (HST) from 12% to 10%.

    And how will that come about?

    Looks like the political powerhouse duo of Carole Taylor and Diane Watts are set to take over once Gordo walks off into the political sunset.

    http://alexgtsakumis.com/2009/12/12/breaking-news-the-return-of-carole-taylor/

  • Janie Jones

    3 years ago

    The Shape of Things to Come

    I see that along with former timber industry PR hack and current Suzuki Foundation chair James Hoggen, Chief Ken Brown of the Klahoose First Nation has been named to the Advisory Task Force on Community Engagement and First Nations Partnerships.

    This is the same person who sent a letter to the WCWC when they had the impertinence to oppose some of the massive private power projects that the slicks are planning for BC's coastal watersheds.

    From now on, the WCWC must ask permission before they enter indigenous territories, "abide by the ultimate
    decision of the First Nations with respect to such projects" and "cease perpetuating myths and falsehoods about run- of-river developments."

  • Frank

    3 years ago

    Brad

    You haven't been paying attention, the NDP opposed the carbon tax when the Liberals brought it in. It was in all the papers.

    The tax is a right-wing regressive one and fits perfectly with all the other taxes your side has saddled us with.

    As for Carole and Diane, have they one great new policy idea between them or are they just more of Gord?

    .
    .
    .
    I thought so.

  • Luke

    3 years ago

    Frank...

    Read a bit... educate yourself. ;)

    Quote:
    The best two Premiers we’ve never had, Carole Taylor and Dianne Watts, may be headed to Victoria–and sooner than you think.

    Quote:
    Most notably, should Carole Taylor AND Dianne Watts team up and go off to Victoria, the NDP are absolutely guaranteed opposition for 12 years, at a minimum, no matter who they choose as leader.

    Quote:
    The Angel Gabriel himself couldn’t save the NDP in that case

    http://alexgtsakumis.com/2009/12/12/breaking-news-the-return-of-carole-taylor

  • Skywalker

    3 years ago

    Quoting yourself again.

    Quoting yourself is the same as quoting some right-wing self proclaimed commentator on the political scene who mirrors your views. I guess if the Campbell liberals want to dredge up the bottom of the barrel then they should go for it. Hell why not do the same thing the NDP did. Sure it will work. Replace Gordon with a senior with heavy make-up or some other Vancouver type. Yeah sounds really good!

    Do you ever have an original thought?

  • North of Hope

    3 years ago

    A scheme

    I believe L. Cohen hit the nail on the head when he wrote, "A scheme is not a vision."

  • crankypants

    3 years ago

    Who's zoomin who?

    The credibility of the environmental movement has been shattered by the likes of Berman, Suzuki and the rest of the gang that jumped on the carbon tax bandwagon. They succeeded in nothing more than throwing out the baby with the bath water.

    Now we have one of these environmental turncoats going overseas to present a dubious award to someone that deserves it as much as an atheist does for furthering the advancement of religion.

    What a joke!

  • Tieleman

    3 years ago

    More on Berman & co in Copenhagen

    ...can be found on my blog, along with the photo of Gordon Campbell receiving his award from Tzeporah. http://billtieleman.blogspot.com/2009/12/high-price-of-privatized-green-power-in.html

  • Frank

    3 years ago

    Brad

    In the spirit of quoting oneself...

    Frank on the Tyee said :

    "Taylor and Watts got nothing"

    So there you go.

  • bluerev

    3 years ago

    Carbon tax could be good if...

    I idea of a carbon tax is good and could work as long as the price of using Carbon goes up... But this Carbon tax is revenue neutral, so the money we the consumers pay goes right back to the oil and gas extractors keeping things the way the already were. If the oil and gas companies had to pay for their extraction of the carbon fully, then the consumers would have the pay a lot more for Carbon, making it less economical to waste carbon. We would be forced by economics to drive less, heat less, buy less, all which would reduce the CO2 going into the air.

    Money is equal to energy. Our money is based mostly on Carbon energy. When Carbon energy is too uneconomical to use, then we will base out money on energy that sustainable (hopefully).

  • Frank

    3 years ago

    bluerev

    "We would be forced by economics to drive less, heat less, buy less, all which would reduce the CO2 going into the air."

    Nope, we all wouldn't because financially we are not all equal. And that is why carbon taxes are a bad idea, they are based on the assumption that Canadians all make about the same income.

    In actual fact those at the bottom would feel the pain and the price would only have to rise to a point where they couldn't afford energy and then demand would lessen.

    After all, many people are living cheque to cheque. It takes only a small increase in energy prices for their lives to be impacted negatively. They will quickly have to give up something very important if they want to keep buying energy as the price rises.

    The well-off should support a carbon tax as they will not have to reduce their use of energy at all and yet emissions overall will go down as those further down the ladder turn out the lights and sit in the dark.

    Carbon taxes will increase poverty.

  • Sask Resident

    3 years ago

    Caron Tax & An Award

    I assume that Campbell's government provides these so-called 'environmental' groups with operating grants, tax-free status and other grants, so why wouldn't they give him an award at little cost to themselves? Next year, Campbell will give them another few $100 thousands of taxpayer money.

    As for cap & trade. The Europeans have found out that their cap & trade system for carbon emissions has been very good for the Russian mob and other organized crime groups. The Russians and east Germans still claim carbon credits for the closed down, very inefficient Soviet industries that continue to pollute the land and water (no clean up).

    Consumers are the main cause of carbon emissions for a tax on carbon used for fuels should help people to look for alternatives.

  • morechatter

    3 years ago

    Major Oil Companies Also Endorse Tax

    And that is the bottom line the tax does not do what it is intended to do as it is more designed to keep the low income from using valuable resources because it has become a luxury, heat and transpiration to low income. Remember the punishment is the cost so who are you hurting and who are you helping? Cap and Trade is another no brainier as it allows big polluters to continue to pollute as its a trade off. And lets face it if Major Oil Companies are for the tax its not the solution as like a basic tax credit there should also be a basic energy credit that families and individuals should be allowed and then start adding up the bill. As right now the only people to seriously stop using energy are those who can not afford it and those concerned with the environment. I guess it would' be so bad if the tax was used to help with the damage already done but thats not happening as the government lines it pockets while imposing further hardships on the low income who already barely have a foot print. Oh yes the check is in the mail isn't going to cut it as how can you take what the low income just don't have and that is money for a carbon tax credit.

  • morechatter

    3 years ago

    $=Energy

    So money isn't the solution unless your a major oil company or a government because the millions and millions taken off the backs of the poor are handed over to the rich so they can spend your $ on more energy.

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