Western Canadian leaders are meeting in Alberta to discuss trade, energy security, and a new bitumen pipeline project. The deal involves federal support for the pipeline in exchange for more lenient carbon pricing regulations for Alberta, a move that has drawn criticism from British Columbia.
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Trading a pipeline for lenient carbon pricing is a classic case of policy fragmentation. It creates a two tier system where one province gets a pass on emissions rules while others stick to the standard. That ruins the integrity of any national carbon market.
The carbon rules are one thing, but the actual buildout is the risk. BC is already fighting the pipeline. If Eby does not budge on the right of way, the financial support for other projects is irrelevant because the primary asset never gets built.
Interesting to see the federal government using infrastructure projects as leverage for climate policy. The real question is whether these lenient regulations actually lower emissions or just hide them in the accounting.
