EDITORIAL: PBO gives the real costs of climate policies - Toronto Sun

EDITORIAL: PBO gives the real costs of climate policies | Toronto Sun

Article content

The reason the Trudeau government keeps freaking out about reports by Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux on its climate change policies, is that he keeps reminding it — and us — that there are costs.

Advertisement 2

Article content

tap here to see other videos from our team.

EDITORIAL: PBO gives the real costs of climate policies Back to video

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault constantly downplay this reality.

Article content

That is, that when you put a price tag on something that has never had a price tag — industrial greenhouse gas emissions — our cost-of-living increases.

The federal government constantly skirts this fact, even as it boasts of spending more than $200 billion addressing climate change — $200 billion of our money.

Indeed, with every new climate-related tax, fee and public subsidy the Liberal government brings in — its message is the same.

Carbon taxes? No problem, the Liberals say. Climate action incentive payments in the provinces where people pay the tax leave them better off.

The PBO begs to differ, noting that when the impact of the carbon tax on the economy is considered, average households end up hundreds of dollars annually worse off, rising to thousands of dollars when the tax is fully implemented in 2030.

Advertisement 3

Article content

Clean Fuel Regulations? No problem, the Liberals say. The price impact won’t be felt immediately and will be small.

The PBO begs to differ, noting it will increase the cost of gasoline and diesel fuel significantly by 2030 and disproportionately hit low-income earners, as well as people living in Atlantic Canada, many of whom use oil to heat their homes because natural gas is not available.

As Giroux told the National Post last year: “The moment you decide to decarbonize the economy in a relatively short period of time — and we’re talking here less than 10 years to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions — it’s clear that there is going to be a cost.”

It’s also clear, as Giroux notes, that the benefits of addressing climate change — such as less severe weather — depend on what other countries do because with 1.5% of global emissions, Canada could achieve net zero emissions tomorrow and the impact would be non-existent.

Ditto, anticipated savings from new technologies which haven’t yet been invented.

Between a government selling a policy and an independent financial watchdog reporting on costs, we think it’s obvious who should be believed.

Article content

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.