Federal carbon pricing fuel costs arrive in July 2023, as do price cuts
The federal government will impose its fuel fee - known as a carbon tax - on consumers in Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador next July.
CBC has learned that Secretary of the Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault will announce on Tuesday that Ottawa is imposing a federal carbon barrier on these provinces.
The three provinces will join Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario under the federal backstop. New Brunswick, Quebec, the Northwest Territories and British Columbia will continue to monitor their own carbon pricing regimes.
The federal price goes into effect July 1 and the consumer rebate — the federal government's tax-free Climate Action Incentive Payment (CAIP) — is expected to arrive within a few weeks after that.
Quarterly CAIP payments typically arrive in January, April, July, and October — part of the federal government's plan to return 90 percent of the money it collects through carbon taxes. A family of four is expected to receive between $240 and $400 each quarter in Atlantic provinces where federal backstops are now in effect, according to a senior government source who is not authorized to speak publicly.
Tuesday's announcement came a day after the federal government announced up-front grants of up to $5,000 to help low- to middle-income households switch from oil furnaces to heat pumps.
The price of carbon is currently at $50 per tonne of emissions; is expected to increase to $65 per tonne in 2023 before reaching $170 per tonne in 2030.
In principle, carbon pricing takes into account the total cost of increasing greenhouse gas emissions — forest fires, heat waves, droughts, and property loss due to floods. By imposing these costs on burning fossil fuels, the government hopes to make it easier and cheaper over time for businesses and consumers to choose lower-carbon options.
The Liberal government calls carbon pricing the most efficient way to price pollution and encourage clean innovation.
According to the World Bank, 68 national or subnational carbon pricing initiatives account for around 20 percent of global emissions.
While the Canadian government will enforce its carbon pricing in these three Atlantic provinces, Guilbeault is expected to announce heavy emitters in Saskatchewan are no longer subject to the federal government's system. Ottawa has adopted a Saskatchewan output-based pricing system. This article was written by EDUKASI CAMPUS.