Contact: Katie Sullivan, sullivan@ieta.org
TORONTO, 25 June – IETA welcomes Alberta’s decision to build on its existing market mechanism to tackle climate change, as sub-nationals continue to lead on carbon pricing and markets across North America.
The province’s new Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips today announced that the Alberta’s Specified Gas Emitters Regulation (SGER) system1 would be extended until at least the end of 2017, ending months of uncertainty about the future direction of climate policy. The program, the first in North America to put a price on carbon, will also seek greater emissions reductions.
Alberta last year signed the World Bank’s Joint Statement on Carbon Pricing, and has reached out to emerging economies interested in markets via the Bank’s Partnership for Market Readiness.
“IETA is pleased to see that one of the first orders of business for the new Alberta government is to tackle the province’s climate policy – and to recommit to its market-based system,” says IETA President and CEO Dirk Forrister. “This is the signal that business and investors in Alberta have been needing.”
The new expiration for SGER, 31 December 2017, coincides with the likely start date for Ontario’s emissions trading system – which is intended to link with those of California and Québec. These two systems will be starting their third compliance period from 1 January 2018.
“IETA looks forward to working with the government on how it can further improve SGER, including potentially expanding Alberta’s next phase of carbon pricing to tie in with other developments in North America,” says Katie Sullivan, Director of North America and Climate Finance.
“Increased coordination can help achieve greater reductions at even lower costs,” she adds. “This is crucial as the province evaluates its options to meet its long-term climate change commitments. IETA and our members stand by ready to engage with the government on this process.”
NOTES
1 Alberta’s SGER is a baseline-and-credit system, with the option to use offsets to comply. For more information on Alberta’s system, please see the IETA-EDF-CDC Climat case study.
Please find press release here.
