White Paper: Canadian Climate Change Policy
Canadian climate change policy has the following broad objectives:
- reduction of fossil fuel use;
- reduction of global warming;
- promotion of alternative energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, and biomass;
- promotion of green technologies; and
- promotion of energy conservation through the three R’s of reduction, re-use, and recycling.
How would such policy objectives be operationalized through incremental, rational, bounded rational, or mixed scanning policy approaches?
Incremental
Continue with existing energy policies but do the following in a gradual manner:
- Impose tougher emission standards on fossil fuel producers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Enhance methods of carbon capture and storage.
- Invest money in research and new initiatives for solar, wind, tidal, and biomass energy production.
As well,
- Maintain Canadian nuclear power generation.
- Continue existing policies and programs for energy conservation.
Rational
Establish a completely new policy and program approach based on systematic analysis of the environmental challenges and opportunities facing the country and the best ways to address them. The following are likely policy outcomes:
- a thorough scientific, environmental, and policy review of climate change and the environmental, ecological, economic, social, cultural, and political implications for Canada and the broader global community;
- a full review of existing climate change policies and programs in this country and all other major countries;
- a full review of best practices with respect to climate change policy, as found in the national and international scientific and public policy literature;
- imposition of a carbon tax on fossil fuel use;
- earmarking of revenues from a carbon tax for development of green energy technologies;
- stricter limits on carbon emissions by Canadian industries;
- linking of Canadian carbon emission standards with international climate change treaties;
- full cost–benefit analyses of the future worth of Canadian carbon fuel industries and those associated with nuclear, solar, wind, tidal, and biomass energy generation;
- aggressive development of a new energy industry or a combination of nuclear, solar, wind, tidal, and biomass alternative energy industries; and
- aggressive development of policies of reduction, re-use, and recycling.
Bounded Rationalism
Follow the basic lines of the rationalist approach listed above, but aim for more easily achievable objectives and outcomes:
- Use existing global warming policy studies and reports. No need to reinvent the policy research wheel.
- Conduct a review of climate change policy initiatives in only a select few countries that are leaders in the field.
- Maintain the Canadian oil and gas industry but slowly impose greater emission control standards.
- Study a carbon tax but refrain from imposition of one until the United States is prepared to do so as well.
- Maintain Canadian nuclear energy sources as a fait accompli.
- Study only alternative energy sources that show immediate practical potential: solar and wind.
- Maintain existing policies and programs on energy conservation.
Mixed Scanning
Focus detailed attention on one climate change policy matter, and leave all others to incremental management:
- Focus on the development of alternative energy sources respecting solar and wind energy production.
- Leave the oil and gas industry to incremental management in keeping with existing environmental policy objectives.
- Engage in close study of solar and wind energy initiatives in this country and abroad.
- Assess the best means to develop viable Canadian solar and wind energy industries.
- Invest strategic funding into select solar and wind energy initiatives.
Which of these policy approaches is most convincing to you? Which one tends best to illustrate the climate change policy of the current Trudeau government? Which one best illustrated the approach of the former Harper government? And which one is actually the best approach for addressing the problem of climate change? Is this approach being used? If not, why not?
