Abolishing carbon pricing in Canada would not only harm the fight against global warming, but also Canadian exports to Europe, warns Justin Trudeau’s special envoy, Stéphane Dion.
Anxious to protect its own businesses against unfair foreign competition, the European Union (EU) is preparing to impose a compensatory tax at its borders on goods exported by other countries that do not have equivalent carbon pricing mechanisms. to his family, explained Thursday the former federal Liberal Minister of the Environment, then of Foreign Affairs, today Canadian Ambassador to France and special envoy of the Prime Minister to the EU and Europe.
Until now, Canadians have been able to convince Europeans that their own carbon pricing mechanisms are as good and demanding as theirs. But this would no longer be the case if, as Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives promise, Ottawa “cut its carbon tax.”
“Carbon pricing is an export tool,” he warned during a speech to the Montreal Council on International Relations. “Abolishing it in Canada would not only be an ecological mistake, but also contrary to our economic interests. »
Such a decision would be all the more ill-advised, he continued, as the rapid approach of environmental deadlines, as well as the energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the desire to take distance from China, has stimulated European interest in natural resources, products and technologies from Canada.
This growing economic interest goes in both directions, explained the president and CEO of Boralex, Patrick Decostre, who shared the stage with him. “It must be said, Europe is ahead in terms of decarbonization. We learned a lot there, and everything we learn there, we can apply it in Canada and the United States,” said the head of the Quebec company specializing in the production of renewable energy.
Stay tuned to the population
This is good news, Canada and the EU signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), almost all of whose provisions immediately entered into force in 2017, pending ratification. by the 27 countries of the Union.
Stéphane Dion is not too worried at the moment with the refusal, in March, of the French Senate to give him the green light. Even if, unlike Germany, Spain and 15 other countries, around ten countries, including France, Italy and Poland, have still not ratified the agreement. Completely reversing the agreement would require the unanimous agreement of European countries.
And then, French senators can immediately stop making all kinds of doomsday scenarios about the repercussions that CETA could have, he said. “They just have to look at the facts. The agreement has been in force since 2017. It has benefited Canada, as well as the European Union, but even more so Europeans, including in the agricultural sector. And at the regulatory level, it’s not a race to the bottom. It’s a race to the top. […] It would be completely crazy not to succeed in ratifying CETA, because that would be contrary to what we should do. »
What concerns the diplomat most is the rise of protectionism and the rejection of the green transition illustrated by the success won by the “radical right” parties in the last European elections. However, this backlash also reminds us of the importance of taking into account the concrete impact that the green shift can have on the population, otherwise, by wanting to do too much and doing it too quickly, we risk pushing it into the arms of those who want to do nothing. “We must keep the people on the side of pragmatic politicians who really want to get things done. »