Carbon limits for Ontario

Monday, 20 April 2015

The Canadian province of Ontario is following its efforts to phase out coal-fired electricity generation by introducing a cap-and-trade system to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Ontario premier Kathleen Wynne announces the cap-and-trade program (Image: Government of Ontario)

The cap-and-trade system will set limits on greenhouse gas emissions allowed in each sector of the province's economy, allocating quotas to individual companies. The system aims to encourage businesses to improve their energy efficiency by enabling them to sell unused portions of their quota.

The province will join the cap-and-trade system under the Western Climate Initiative, a collaboration of jurisdictions from western US states and Canadian provinces working together to develop and implement emissions trading policies at a regional level. Originally established in 2007 by the governors of the five US states, the initiative's current membership consists of California, Quebec and British Columbia.

Ontario's premier Kathleen Wynne described climate change as a critically important and urgent problem that must be fought both globally and locally. "The action we are taking today will help secure a healthier environment, a more competitive economy and a better future for our children and grandchildren," she said.

Ontario environment and climate change minister, Glen Murray, said that the province's action would help it to meet both the challenges of reducing greenhouse gas emissions "fast enough to avoid a crisis" while seizing the opportunities presented by a low-carbon economy.

Wynne's announcement is the latest development in a province that since 2003 has been pursuing a long-term clean-energy policy which has seen all of the province's coal-fired power plants either converted to burn biomass or shut down. Ontario Power Generation completed work on the final unit to be converted to biomass, at its Thunder Bay site, in February 2015. Several of the shut-down coal plants have been preserved so that they can be converted to alternative fuels in the future if required.

Ontario is home to 18 of Canada's 19 operating nuclear power plants, and the clean-energy policy has relied heavily on nuclear's contribution.

Welcoming Ontario's initiative Canadian Nuclear Association (CNA) president and CEO John Barrett said the nation's nuclear industry looked forward to collaborating with the provincial government as it works out the details of the new system.

"We support policies that produce clean air and lead to a cooler climate", Barrett said, going on to describe nuclear energy as the foundation of Ontario's diversified electrical mix.

Citing official Canadian statistics, the CNA pointed out that Ontario's electrical generating industry cut its greenhouse gas emissions from 43 million tonnes in 2000 to 14.5 million tonnes in 2012 during a period when the province's nuclear output rose from 59.8 TWh to 84.9 TWh.

Researched and written
by World Nuclear News