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B.C. has an advantage over most other jurisdictions in that the overwhelming source of the province’s electricity is carbon-free hydro power.
But there’s a catch: B.C. is also the only jurisdiction with a carbon tax that doesn’t also offer exporters in mining, energy and forestry — known as emissions-intensive trade exposed (EITE) producers — some sort of scheme to offset that tax, Greg D’Avignon, president and CEO of the Business Council of B.C., said Tuesday.
It means B.C. producers face higher costs than out-of-province and international competitors.
“The rest of the world aspires to do what B.C. accomplished in the 1950s to the 1980s with renewable hydro and low-carbon-content electricity and energy supplies,” D’Avignon said. “B.C., at 97 per cent clean electricity, is the envy of the world.”
But the rest of the world helps shield its high-emissions exporters from the full effect of carbon taxes, he added.
