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| Gas sales in BC up despite carbon tax & high prices! - Bill Tieleman photo |
Gas sales up while
emissions-heavy industry booms under BC Liberals.
Tuesday July 3,
2012
By Bill Tieleman
"Yet
for all its environmental piety, Norway is also a prodigious polluter. Its
greenhouse-gas emissions have grown 15 per cent since it adopted the carbon
tax."
British
Columbia's unique carbon tax on gasoline and other fuels went up another 1.1
cents a litre Sunday, but it remains an expensive, ineffective and unpopular
failure.
While
the BC Liberal government is attempting to make the proverbial silk purse from
a sow's ear, the reality is that North America's only carbon tax is not reducing
vehicle fuel consumption.
Nor
is it helping improve the environment, since every cent of the $1.17 billion in
tax revenue raised this year
goes to corporate and personal tax cuts -- not to fund a single
environmentally-friendly program like public transit, energy efficiency or
conservation.
Statistics
Canada figures show what happened. In 2008 -- the carbon tax's first year --
B.C. motor gasoline
sales were 4,529.8 in thousands of cubic metres.
In
2011 they totaled
4,536.8 thousand cubic metres.
Gas
sales went up, not down, under the carbon tax, despite a tough economic
recession that reduced consumption.
Hardly
environmental
Nonetheless,
B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake claims success, arguing that greenhouse
gas emissions have dropped 4.5 per cent between 2007 and 2010.
But
even Lake doesn't deny that two-thirds of the GHG drop was "likely
attributable" to the economic downturn, not the impact of the
carbon tax.
B.C.'s
stated goal is a 33 per cent GHG reduction by 2020 -- and Lake admits that will
be "challenging"
to meet.
Mark
Jaccard, a Simon Fraser University environmental economics professor who strongly
supports the carbon tax, says it will take 20 years to determine if it works.
"It
would be shocking if a carbon tax had made a difference in a couple of years
and it hasn't," Jaccard says.
It
would also be shocking if the BC Liberals admitted their own hypocrisy and
either fixed or scrapped the carbon tax, which remains highly controversial.
While
paying lip service to environmental concerns, this government's biggest single
capital expenditure is building a new $3.3 billion, 10-lane Port Mann Bridge
that will dramatically increase vehicle traffic -- while scrapping the old
bridge despite an estimated
remaining lifespan of up to 50 years, according to an engineer who
designed and supervised its construction.
(Award-winning
Dutch engineer Gerrit Hardenberg told the Journal of Commerce this year that
the existing Port Mann Bridge should have been twinned, at a cost for the
second bridge of less than $200 million.)
And
the government claims it wants to reduce GHG emissions, but last month declared
fossil fuel natural gas which it previously condemned as "dirty" is
now "clean" -- in order to power up to six multi-billion dollar
liquefied natural gas plants for exports to Asia.
B.C.'s
greenhouse gas emissions in 2009 were 66.9 million tons. Fugitive emissions
from LNG extraction alone will produce
54 to 110 MTs a year, according to the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association.
Putting
every British Columbia driver into a Smart Car or Prius or tripling the carbon
tax wouldn't make up for all the GHGs
those LNG bad boys will be responsible for, between extraction, liquefaction,
export and consumption.
Wan
support
What's
more, a poll released by the pro-carbon
tax Pembina Institute in 2011 found that 51 per cent of British Columbians did
not want the carbon tax to continue increasing each year, while just 29 per
cent did, with 21 per cent not sure.
That
may be a reflection of how unfair the regressive carbon tax is, since those
with lower income pay proportionally more of their budget on gas and fuel than
upper income earners.
And
northern B.C. residents who don't have access to public transit have no choice
but to pay higher gas and fuel prices to get around and to stay warm.
There's
also the Norway example,
where despite introducing a substantial carbon tax in 1991, GHG emissions had
jumped 15 per cent by 2008.
"Norwegians,
who already pay nearly $10 a gallon, took the tax in stride, buying more cars
and driving them more," the Wall Street Journal reported. In B.C. terms,
using current regular gas prices of about $1.35 a litre in Vancouver, the
Norwegian price today is about $2.65 a litre, with six per cent of that its
carbon tax component.
Whether
you want to scrap the carbon tax, keep increasing it or fix it will be the
subject of a B.C. government
review, where you can let Finance Minister Kevin Falcon know how you
feel until Aug. 31.
So don't
count on this government making the carbon tax disappear or using the revenue
for anything that would actually help reduce fuel consumption anytime soon.
25 comments:
I am just sick of all this ECO-GREEN-DUNG the political parties and media are pimping out on society.
All BC's Carbon Tax is, is a cheap tax grab wrapped up in politically correct excrement.
If that is isn't bad enough every "running dog capitalist" is trying to market his or hers over-priced inferior quality product as . . . ORGANIC, GREEN, NATURAL or ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY!
All that's missing from this soap opera is Jesus and the Bible . . . We Can Pray Our Way Out Of This!
Yes, we have screwed the environment but until real action happens all of this SHIT is just that.
The GREAT SATAN
Provincial shades of green: carbon tax OK, Enbridge pipeline... silence.
It is discouraging that one of the few progressive policies of the Liberal government has been so harshly criticized by elements of the NDP, such as Bill. The carbon tax is only a small part of the price of gasoline, but taxing gasoline at all reduces consumption - as do regulations for more fuel efficient cars, encouragement of transit and cycling, etc. That consumption has remained virtually level over four years, despite population growth and increased vehicle registrations, is an achievement. The fact remains if we don't reduce the use of fossil fuels we will fry - as the eastern US has been lately. It seems to me a responsible position would be to encourage more effort to reduce fossil fuel use, not attack the one policy that does some good.
Yes yes another review to put off making a decision until after the 2013 election (if KK is brave enough to follow the law). These doofusus won't reduce anything if it hurts the corporate bottom line. Can't wait for 2013 to vote them out. Come on anon troll, waiting for you to respond.
Neal Adams, how about investing the carbon tax money into green industries, green technology green education instead of the corporate bottom line? If this were the case I don't think Bill or anyone would oppose the tax.
Of course raising the tax on something reduces its consumption, it's simple economics. As price goes up, demand goes down. The fact that gas consumption has increased over the years is due mainly to population increases. Without the extra tax, who knows how much MORE it might have increased. It sucks for us when we have to pay at the pump, but we're in the 21st century and we need to get serious about reducing our usage of fossil fuels. The tax is a very progressive policy, and I'm tired of all the backward thinking attacking it.
Ron S. bubbled:
"invest in green industries, green technology.. instead of the corporate bottom line?"
Wwell those green industries and the makers of green technology are also corporations.
Ron most likely uses a product of corporations in getting around, be it a car, a transit bus, Skytrain, or even a tricycle.
The carbon tax is a cash grab. If 100% of the collection of the tax went to public transit projects, I'd be all for it, but it goes into general revenue.
Would the NDP be any different? Ask Geoff Meggs. The NDP will want to appeal to the Green Party vote and will keep the carbon tax.
We are all used to paying taxes as long as they are going to the right place. But with the present government the money keeps going into places they want to put it, not necessarily where, because of it's name, we expect it to go. General revenue is the dumping ground and then heads off to who knows where. done that way.
The carbon tax was simply a way to finance tax breaks for corporations at the expensive of the drivers in B.C. Most people need to drive to get to work, etc. This tax hits those at the bottom of the economic scale more than those at the top. This tax will not stop anyone, who can afford it, to keep driving. For min. wage earners, this tax just takes food out of their mouths.
Most of this enviornmental stuff is bull tweet. If people were truly concerned about the enviornment they would stop purchasing a new cell phone everytime a new one was out. Same for the t.v.s & all the other electronic stuff. Most of what electronic stores sell is non essential & deteramental to the enviornment.
People don't need to get rid of white appliances, which work, for stainless steel. They don't need to rip out perfectly good counters to put in granite. No they want to. If you were to ask any of them about how this affects the enviornment you'd get a blank stare.
Most of what we buy in Walmart, $ stores, etc. are all non essential, come from China & use natural resources & energy to produce. its the same with the smart meters. They are removing perfectly good meters to install new ones, built in China. I'd love to see an energy/natural resource analysis of what it cost the enviornment to produce them. If they were enviromental they'd only replace them when the old ones broke.
Carbon taxes, carbon offsets, etc. are all a new way for someone to make a lot more money. The impact on the enviornment hasn't changed & I don't expect it to.
The gas tax was just a tax grab, it was not an environmental plan. All the BC Liberals did was institute a tax on petrochemical energy products, but they had no plan on how to reduce the use of such fuels. They called it a Carbon Tax to dress it up, not to reduce its use. Look at their plans for highway construction and expansion to see the myth that they were interested in GHG reduction. They have no plan to implement to help GHG reduction. You can imagine Joe the Plumber saying to himself, "Gee the gas tax is causing the price of gas to be so high, I need to trade in my 4X4 pick-up and get a hybrid car." Look at the increase in highway construction in the last few years. The NDP did have a plan. They were set to implement a Cap and Trade system. They wanted to tax the petrochemicals at their source so all would be covered, including exports. And they were initiating a fund to help establish environmental sound processes to develop and use in our homes and communities. Not much in the press about that during the election campaign, but lots about attack ads. In fact so much that it became an attack on the NDP.
It's sad that people so fundamentally misunderstand the Carbon Tax in BC. It is not a tax grab, it is a tax shift. Every penny of carbon tax collected is offset with income tax cuts. There is no "revenue" to spend on green initiatives and the only way there will be is if the NDP kill the off setting income tax cuts.
There was a time not so long ago when tax shifting was the mantra of progressive politicians everywhere. Remove taxes on things that we want to encourage, like income and place them instead on things we don't want (fossil fuel pollution). Now the NDP have decided to borrow a page from Stephen Harper's book of Cheap Populism, turn their backs on intelligent and effective policy, and pursue the lowest common denominator - or at least campaign that way.
I would actually guarantee that Dix leaves the Carbon Tax in place if elected after the next election because he seems like a fairly thoughtful, intelligent guy.
I look forward to attending the NDP Nomination Meeting in my riding, being able to drive my hulkin' smokin' Ford F-350 with a pig on gas engine.
Pfft to the environmentalists and to those eco-crazies.
Nice picture there Bill. I'm sure "BC's Devilled Ham" The Great Satan will be salvating over that one, remembering his days in the Trudeau era Liberals, reliving the National Energy Program and the distilling of PetroCan.
That's a great attitude about your F-350 sir (you're obviously not a woman, they don't need penile enhancements in the same way that some men do).
It really sounds like you should be driving to your local Republican primary instead of an NDP nomination meeting. You will surely be quite disappointed when you arrive at said meeting and find a room full of people who a) believe that climate change is real and b) would like to actually do something about it.
You seem to have have the same Republican/Conservative attitude towards the world that Bill Maher so neatly sums up as "Screw you knowing things!".
Bill, I used support the Carbon Tax premise that the tax would pay for rebates for Heat Pumps replacing Oil furnaces or Solar panels to supplement Hydro etc. Well I have been waiting for over 11 months for my rebate cheque. No joy. Seems like this is just another lie from the SoB's.
"The impact on the environment hasn't changed & I don't expect it to."
I think that events will occur that will force it to change. An example would be the declaration by the World Health Organizatgion on June 12 in Lyon France where they reclassified and named Diesel Exhaust as a Group One Carcinogen. This event has the potential to be a Game Changer. Interestingly enough it is seriously under-reported in Canada. Other countries are very concerned that Diesel Exhaust is now in the same catergory of Carcinogenic Killers as Plutonium 239, Arsenic and Asbestos. When you look at the harm that Diesel Exhaust does here in BC with the premature death of 6 people from Diesel-Induced Lung Cancer each and every day and the way that it gobbles up $3 Billion or almost 20% of the provincial health care budget you have to wonder why we are doing this to ourselves. Diesel Highway Trucks need to be on Highways not being jammed down residential roads in the middle of high density residential communities that do not provide adequate setbacks to protect the Public Health. We have a serious Public Health issue in BC and we need to act quickly to protect our families and our children from this deadly carcinogen. My hope is that it is this kind of action where we value People over Profits that will lead to the creation of viable solutions for the future. Sure i know that Diesel Fuel is the most profitable product ever marketed by the Energy Industry (200 to 300% as profitable as gasoline) however we need to be doing what is right for our children and their children. Spewing a known carcinogen all over schools, homes, playgrounds, parks and long term care facilities that are not protected by adequate setbacks from the trail of deadly Diesel Exhaust needs to stop.
Ross.... www.DeathByDiesel.ca
Meanwhile all the poor worker bees who live south of the Fraser but work on the other side, pay through the nose just to go to work and back. Then they have to dig into the piggy bank again to pay the "shadow tolls" so the true blue BC LIEberal supporters in West Van can drive their BMWs and such on the "free" Sea to Die Highway!
Maybe we greedy working class folks should take up a collection to send these poor downtrodden rich folk to Hawaii - ONE WAY!
oooops, my bad, that prolly sounds like occupytard class warfare conspiracy theory stuff from dem cultist bloggers of the left. I hope you ain't one of dem Bill.
Heck even Warren Buffet, everybody's favorite Billionaire said if there is a class war, his side is winning in a big, big way.
Koot misses out once again. He doesn't realize that many left wingers also use that highway driving their 1998 Ford Taurus with expensive skis on the roof.
Does koot even realize the fact that the NDP never kept up with infrastructure the way they should have? That those worker bees living south of the Fraser paid for the Inland Island Highway and also the Mary hill bypass? No?
Im sure many thought it was genius that the NDP put in the HOV lane eastbound over the Port Mann, but then Harry Lali the Transportion Minister did not think enough to know that people have to drive To work as well as From work. if he had then the HOV lane across the Port Mann would have been made reversible.
Meanwhile delays getting through downtown because Geoff Meggs figured alot of people would bicycle downtown in the cold wet weather in the middle of November to middle of February.
Anon at 7:08 is the one that seems to have difficulty getting it, by "it" I mean anything. The fact is that even though dem uppity poor folk driving to Whistler, though how he knows how much they pay for their skis eludes me, or is he implying rich folks pack cheap skis or use recycled barrel staves, and either way, how is that relevant - oh yeah now I remember, non sequiters, red herrings, ad hominems and straw men, the tools of those without facts on their side.
In the world of facts and actual reality it is true that even though the Sea to Die isn't officially a toll road, there ARE shadow tolls paid to the P3 bandits colluding with their LIEberal buddies. Everyone in the province, even me here in the Kootenays contributes to the tolls for both the BMW and the 1989 rusty Taurus heading out to play.
Meanwhile, the working stiff from south of the river pays his own freight to and from work with no assistance or subsidization from Mr. West Van or even me. User pay for the poor, trillion dollar bail-outs for the rich. After all they need their money to create jobs.......in China and Central America.
This isn't really about what the NDP did or didn't do in the dark days of the nineties, we all know it was ever more turribler than the Great Depression and the 100 years war put together during the dark days of Emperor Harcourt and the Glen Clark Dynasty!
So loot how is it that folks in the Lower Mainland have to pay out for the free ferry on Kootenay Lake which is a 40 minute sail while the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Langdale on the Sunshine Coast also 40 minutes sail time has fares? Seems to us you are complaining about nothing as you get a free ferry to and from Nelson. Seems to be assistance and subsidy to.me pal
Mr. Anon who has trouble spelling and thinking, I would like to point out a big difference between most of the ferries in the Kootenays and those on the coast.
On the coast the ferries reach islands and such that were rendered boat accessible only by the big guy upstairs.
On the other hand, in the Kootenays many bodies of water were created by BC Hydro, or enlarged beyond the point of being able to cross by simple technology like friction ferries or even small bridges.
When Gordo was on his drunken spree with newfound power in 2001, he and Air Blair SufferDean tried to curtail much of the ferry services, like to Glade, to Procter-Harrop and the short crossing to Edgewood. All of a sudden cops, firemen and other shift workers were faced with having to find additional accomodation in town. Blair was a short term MLA.....and Gordo had to sneak in and out of the area for the next decade.
The Glade ferry was originally built and run by Dukhobor settlers and was powered by a friction system and the current. Then the Brilliant Dam was built - to benefit BC Hydro, not the farmers and the current was killed thus necessitating a motorized ferry for a longer crossing.
Similarly the Arrow Lakes had much easier and narrow crossings before the Keenlyside Dam was built at Castlegar. Much arable land was also lost with little in the way of compensation here in the Kootenays as well.
One can avoid the big Kootenay Lake Ferry by taking the Salmo-Creston Skyway, perhaps we should pay tolls there, cuz it takes a lot of plowing and avalanche control.
Actually putting fares and tolls all over the Kootenays would really piss off a bunch of rednecks from Alberta who are our version of Lower Mainland Chinese, driving up the real estate values to the point locals have to leave.
Locals feel that the existing ferry system in the Kootenays was a qui pro quo during the days of a government that actually believed in development FOR the people of the province and not for multinational corporations - yep W.A.C. Any change now would be very unfair to residents of what would become less accessible communities and reduce the value of their property. No one bought property on Bowen Island or any other Island in the Georgia Strait under the impression access was free.
Overall the drones and paper shufflers at the coast bleed much more from we worker bees in the Hurtland than the other way around and when the existing system starts to crumble and your elevator in your condo don't work and the shelves are empty in the supermarket, DON"T COME HERE TO RAID OUR GARDENS AND KILL OUR GAME AND STOCK.......go eat paper financial instruments on Howe Street, or better yet eat brokers.........
"Mr. Anon who has trouble spelling and thinking, I would like to point out a big difference between most of the ferries in the Kootenays and those on the coast. "
This ought to be good.
"On the coast the ferries reach islands and such that were rendered boat accessible only by the big guy upstairs. "
Koot needs a lesson in geography. Langdale is not on an island, It's simply not accessible by Highway, Nelson is though. My specific reference was the Horseshoe Bay to Langdale route which is 40 minutes the same length as the Kootenay Lake ferry.
Also Earls Cove and Saltery Bay are not on islands either. There's simply no road access between the two.
On the other hand, in the Kootenays many bodies of water were created by BC Hydro, or enlarged beyond the point of being able to cross by simple technology like friction ferries or even small bridges. "
Might want to read your history. The lakes along the river between Castlegar and Nelson were not created by BC Hydro. In the mid 1970s, the Kootenay Canal project was built to add additional power generation bypassing two dams.
When Gordo was on his drunken spree with newfound power in 2001, he and Air Blair SufferDean tried to curtail much of the ferry services, like to Glade, to Procter-Harrop and the short crossing to Edgewood. All of a sudden cops, firemen and other shift workers were faced with having to find additional accomodation in town. Blair was a short term MLA.....and Gordo had to sneak in and out of the area for the next decade.
Sure, and those are free ferries too.
The Glade ferry was originally built and run by Dukhobor settlers and was powered by a friction system and the current. Then the Brilliant Dam was built - to benefit BC Hydro, not the farmers and the current was killed thus necessitating a motorized ferry for a longer crossing.
Similarly the Arrow Lakes had much easier and narrow crossings before the Keenlyside Dam was built at Castlegar. Much arable land was also lost with little in the way of compensation here in the Kootenays as well.
"One can avoid the big Kootenay Lake Ferry by taking the Salmo-Creston Skyway, perhaps we should pay tolls there, cuz it takes a lot of plowing and avalanche control. "
Koot would complain about tolls if that were to happen, but it would be difficult as an NDP government would set those.
Could avoid the ferry costs by eliminating it in the first place.
As for that Salmo-Creston route, careful there cowpoke. The Lower Mainland paid for that too.
Anon, if you don't work for the PABlum Brigade, they are getting quality spin for free.
The fact that the Arrow Lakes are natural is a non sequitur supreme, as I said that, but IT EFFING WAS enlarged - rendering previously easy crossings useless. Same with Glade thanks to Brilliant Dam.
Gee, y'all down in the hole where all our money goes helped pay for the skyway, gee whillikers. You don't seem to understand the difference between taxpayer built infrastructure and a phoney baloney P3 scam where the builder, maintenance provider is paid the equivalent of a toll, called a effing "shadow toll" based on traffice - the difference between that is on the new bridges to Surrey and Richmond the user themselves pay.
If you don't understand the difference between a P3 scam and shadow tolls and public funding of infrastructure that is then available to everyone, even those from out of BeeCee, I am not surprised because you don't seem too smart and can only regurgitate BC LIEberal talking points that you may not even comprehend.
BTW - I lose interest in repetitive retarded trolls so I won't be paying any more attention to you. The BC LIEberals have many more articulate talking point regurgitaters, though they tend to deploy their A-team over at the Tyee.
BC exports coal carbon tax free that is equivalent to five times the amount of natural gas used in BC. The carbon tax is green wash and cannot honestly be claimed to be effective. It won’t be unless it is raised dramatically while ignoring the social cost train wreck it would cause.
Carbon Tax Results To Date
√ Is discriminatory applied to BC residents and businesses while exports of BC’s fossil fuel pay no carbon tax. It’s government sanctioned economic suicide.
√ Discourages tourism and further encourages cross border shopping by BC residents.
√ Encourages the loss of value added jobs by adding a unique cost to work done in BC.
√ Has produced little if any greenhouse gas reduction in BC benefit? If it has, where is the supporting analysis showing it?
√ Discourages new investment in BC by providing other regions outside of BC a clear significant cost and marketing advantage.
√ Makes BC more reliant on resource extraction export revenue as manufacturing continues to be eliminated.
√ Creates more administration for government and businesses.
√ Is a short term income redistribution scheme, however lower income residents will be hardest hit by job loss and resulting higher taxes as the carbon tax if raised to have any effect.
√ After five years BC’s carbon tax with very few exceptions has not been widely introduced or copied as anticipated.
√ Is a double tax to businesses and public institutions when they buy validated carbon offsets.
√ It’s a winner for those who see the elimination of the manufacturing sector, it's related employment and economic decline as laudable goals.
√ Is evolving into a selective tax as more and more exemptions are introduced to deal with the inequity of the tax.
"The fact that the Arrow Lakes are natural is a non sequitur supreme, as I said that, but IT EFFING WAS enlarged - rendering previously easy crossings useless. Same with Glade thanks to Brilliant Dam. "
Koot, the original argument was the free ferry on Kootnay Lake, not Arrow Lakes.
"Gee, y'all down in the hole where all our money goes helped pay for the skyway, gee whillikers. You don't seem to understand the difference between taxpayer built infrastructure and a phoney baloney P3 scam where the builder, maintenance provider is paid the equivalent of a toll, called a effing "shadow toll" based on traffice - the difference between that is on the new bridges to Surrey and Richmond the user themselves pay. "
Koot, the highways around the Kootenays are not maintained by the government directly, they are maintained by private contractors, same as the Sea to Sky.
You obviously don't figure that the free ferry is paid for by not only Lower Mainlanders but everyone in BC. So in essence the free ferry is paid for by shadow fares.
If you don't understand the difference between a P3 scam and shadow tolls and public funding of infrastructure that is then available to everyone, even those from out of BeeCee, I am not surprised because you don't seem too smart and can only regurgitate BC LIEberal talking points that you may not even comprehend.
Koot, the Sea to Sky like all highways are available for everyone even those out of BeeCee..
BTW - I lose interest in repetitive retarded trolls so I won't be paying any more attention to you. "
Well good. You need to take time and actually learn something. Brillant Dam was never ever built by BC Hydro. Not even close. Not even BC Electric. It was put in by West Kootenay Power for the Cominco Smelter in Trail.
"The BC LIEberals have many more articulate talking point regurgitaters, though they tend to deploy their A-team over at the Tyee."
Thre Tyee is a waste of time. It's a dump tank for left wingers.
Since all those contributors seem to do nothing but complain, you'll be right at home.
Since the libtards in Victoria instigated the gasoline tourist tax we no longer vacation in B.C. It is just too expensive to travel in the province.
We now spend our vacation dollars in our own beautiful home province of Alberta.
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