Minister's Speech

Environmental Protection Amendment Act
House Statement – Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading

By the Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment

May 27, 2009

(Check against delivery)

Mr. Speaker, it is a great honour to rise today to table an important piece of legislation — the proposed Environmental Protection Amendment Act on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading.

Climate change is our generation’s greatest environmental challenge.

It threatens our health, our economy, our communities and our way of life.

We have a clear and abiding responsibility to the people of this province to take decisive action to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

By doing so, we lay the foundation for a sustainable green economy for our province and a prosperous, healthy and successful future for our children and grandchildren.

Our government has set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets in our Climate Change Action Plan.

Developing and adopting a fair and effective cap-and-trade system is a necessary step to help us meet these targets and build a stronger, more innovative and competitive green economy.

Mr. Speaker, some form of cap and trade system for North America is inevitable. 

We need to be prepared so we can ensure Ontario is an active participant in the design of a system that would achieve real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and provide our industrial sectors with the flexibility they need to deliver these reductions cost-effectively while continuing to innovate and grow.

Over the past year, we have been establishing the groundwork.

We have been developing partnerships with Quebec, with other like-minded provinces and U.S. states through our membership in the Western Climate Initiative, to help prepare the way for a cap-and-trade system for North America.

In the U.S., President Obama and Congress have moved forward quickly on energy and climate change related measures to initiate the development of a federal cap and trade system through the Waxman-Markey bill.  The President has clearly stated these actions are integral to his strategy for tackling climate change and revitalizing the American economy.

To ensure that Ontario’s objectives of combating the causes of climate change and building a sustainable green economy are met, we need to keep pace with our trading partners in the U.S.
 
Our proposed enabling legislation would help us be ready to implement a cap- and-trade system through future regulations, allow us to link to other trading systems and respond to fast-moving developments both at the federal level in Canada and in the U.S.

The proposed enabling legislation we are introducing today would amend the Environmental Protection Act to provide the authority to set up an emissions trading system that can link with the Western Climate Initiative and a broader North American system as they develop.

It would also enable Ontario to create regulations that would set the actual trading rules — including caps, allocating allowances, reporting systems and offsets … as well as to link to other systems.

And our approach would provide us with the flexibility to respond as new developments unfold.

Through this process, we aim to establish the foundation for a fair and equitable system that would achieve absolute emissions reductions and provide certainty and clarity for industry, for the marketplace and for all the jurisdictions involved.

It is important that we involve the affected sectors in establishing how we construct future regulations for cap and trade. 

We want to make sure we get it right to ensure the best approach for Ontario – our industries and the workers they employ.

While the proposed bill, if passed, would provide the authority to make regulations, details of those regulations would not be determined until we have consulted further with industry and stakeholders. 

To support this process, a discussion paper on cap and trade will be posted on the Environmental Registry for 60 days.

This paper builds on what we heard from stakeholders and provides further details and lays out options for the elements of a cap-and-trade system as the basis for consultations on future regulations.

Mr. Speaker, we have been consulting with sector representatives and other stakeholders as we developed our approach.

As a result, our proposed approach is based on firm fundamentals: establishing a reliable price signal, ensuring a level playing field for Ontario industry, avoiding duplication with federal regulations and pursuing absolute GHG reductions.

We are continuing to work in partnership with other jurisdictions like Quebec and the members of the Western Climate Initiative to ensure we have a harmonized approach and a strong, common front to advocate on behalf of Ontario in the future.

Fighting climate change requires we work across ministries, across jurisdictions and across borders to create a lasting legacy of prosperity for our people, for the health of our province and for the future of our planet.

Through this proposed legislation, and the approach we will be developing as we move forward, we intend to protect Ontario’s interests, create good, green jobs and protect our environment.

I encourage all the members to work with us in supporting this critical step in tackling climate change in Ontario.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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