MESSAGES

BOB PAGE, Ph.D.
NRTEE CHAIR

As Chair of the NRTEE, I am pleased to introduce our major new report on a unified carbon pricing policy for Canada, called Achieving 2050. The Round Table integrates environmental and economic interests and perspectives to create our vision of sustainable development. This report shows how that can be done by designing a comprehensive cap-and-trade system for the Government of Canada to achieve its environmental targets for GHG emission reductions, at the least economic cost.

The carbon pricing policy proposed in this report is responsible, reasonable, and realistic. It is responsible by integrating economic concerns with reaching our environmental goals up front. It is reasonable by providing a suitable transition period to get the proposed new cap-and-trade system up and running across the country. Finally, it is realistic by building on existing climate policy approaches – federally, provincially, and internationally – so we can make faster progress in reaching our goals.

The NRTEE believes now is the time to act more decisively and urgently to ensure Canada is on the most effective path forward to achieving deep, long-term emission reductions. Achieving 2050 sets out a road map to get us there. We hope governments and Canadians will find it useful in considering the challenging and complex issues and solutions Canada must address to help combat climate change.

DAVID McLAUGHLIN
NRTEE PRESIDENT AND CEO

Achieving 2050 is the product of over a year of intensive research and consultation by the NRTEE with leading national and international experts, environmental organizations, and industry associations. It builds on our previous report, Getting to 2050, which called for a carbon pricing policy for Canada to achieve our GHG emission reduction goals. Achieving 2050 goes the next step by proposing the design and implementation of a pan-Canadian carbon pricing policy, unified across all emissions, sectors, and jurisdictions.