Ontario plans to tax carbon emissions
– By David Tanner, staff writer LandlineMag.com

The Ontario provincial government wants to implement a cap-and-trade system to tax carbon emissions as early as 2012.

Many people are still wondering what cap and trade is, but a total of four provinces and seven western U.S. states are part of the Western Climate Initiative pushing to get carbon taxes in place under a harmonized system.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced the filing of legislation Wednesday, May 27, by the provincial Ministry of Environment.

The intent of cap and trade is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by targeting polluters and rewarding non-polluters through a system of taxes and credits.

“In a cap-and-trade system, government gives corporations ‘allowances,’ which limit the amount of greenhouse gases they can emit,” Ontario Ministry officials stated. “Companies that reduce their emissions below their limit have ‘surplus’ allowances they can sell or bank for future use.”

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