How Carole Taylor can go green
'It's not easy bein' green," sings Kermit the Frog, the Muppet stitched together from a discarded ladies' coat that puppeteer Jim Hensen fished out of the trash.
B.C. Finance Minister Carole Taylor, also a commendable fan of recycled attire when it comes to appropriate footwear for delivering provincial budgets, is probably singin' right along with Kermit this fall.
As she prepares the Liberals' much-anticipated 2008 climate-friendly budget, Taylor has the difficult task of harmonizing her government's stated intention to deliver a green budget with provincial policies that produce significant greenhouse gas emissions.
To meet Premier Gordon Campbell's goal of slashing B.C.'s greenhouse gas emissions 33 per cent by 2020, here is what the budget must contain to make sure we don't all end up singing the climate change blues. If the Liberals are finding the switch to green a bit challenging, they can always take a stanza from Kermit as he croons, "Green can be cool and friendly-like."
A carbon tax: Mention the word "tax" to most people and you'll often get a rant about how much the government skims from their paycheques. The carbon tax we're talking about, however, is revenue neutral. In other words, it won't add any money to government coffers and should even leave you with more money in your pocket. Here's how a carbon tax works.
A tax is placed on the use of all fossil fuels -- oil, gas, coal -- according to the amount of greenhouse gases they emit. The prices of goods and services, including the direct purchase of fossil fuels, will shift to reflect their contribution to global warming. Let's say you are trying to decide whether to continue heating your home with oil or to install an energy-efficient heat pump. The carbon tax might be the incentive you need to switch to a heat pump.
The goal is to foster carbon-friendly lifestyles, not to increase the total tax burden on British Columbians. To offset the carbon tax, provincial sales tax or income taxes would be reduced (with more of the return going to lower- and no-income tax brackets). If you choose goods and services that create fewer greenhouse gas emissions, the carbon tax could leave your bank account a little heftier. Notably, carbon taxes are already in place in Quebec, Norway, Finland, Holland, Denmark, Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy.
Legacy fund: Fossil fuel royalties generate an impressive $1.8 billion a year for B.C. coffers. Yet B.C. is one of the few oil-and-gas-producing jurisdictions that does not allocate a portion of fossil fuel revenues to a "rainy day fund" to use when the fossil fuel gold rush is over. Nor do we set aside any fossil fuel royalties for economic diversification or renewable energy initiatives. Alberta puts money from oil and gas revenues into a Heritage Fund. Alaska sets aside 25 per cent of its oil and gas revenues into its Permanent Fund, valued at almost $39 billion US. Chad, in central Africa, directs 10 per cent of its petroleum revenue into a "future generations fund."
B.C. oil and gas royalties must be channelled into a "Climate Solutions Legacy Fund." Half of the fund's revenues should be set aside for a "rainy day;" the other half should go toward climate change solutions, especially the transition to renewable energy sources. The 2008 budget should ensure that a minimum of 10 per cent of oil and gas revenues go into the fund, with that number increasing over time. The budget should also start to eliminate the more than $250 million in subsidies given to some of the most profitable companies on earth to drill for increasingly valuable fossil fuels.
Transit/transportation: At a whopping 40 per cent, transportation is B.C.'s biggest greenhouse gas emitter. B.C.'s 2008 budget must include funding to develop a 40-year vision for transportation -- one that will achieve more than a 90 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from light and heavy vehicles combined. This strategy should include significant transit system upgrades and development (particularly in the Lower Mainland), promotion of technologies such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and changes in land use regulation to encourage more compact and climate-friendly communities.
We also need tools and mechanisms to shift the lump-sum costs of driving, such as insurance, to variable costs linked to mileage. These might include Pay-As-You-Drive (PAYD) vehicle insurance, otherwise known as distance-based insurance. In Houston, Texas, a new PAYD insurance scheme saved low-mileage drivers up to 20 per cent in insurance costs.
Biodiversity adaptation plan: We must make sure B.C.'s ecosystems and wildlife are resilient in the face of climate change. The budget should fund a range of biodiversity measures, including a climate change adaptation strategy, increased protection and connectivity for land and seascapes, and public education.
The provincial government is accepting budget submissions until Friday at www.leg.bc.ca/budgetconsultation. Kermit's book was titled, One Frog Can Make a Difference -- and so can you. Green might not be easy, but that's what most British Columbians want our province to be.
