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A Province under Pressure: Climate Change Policy in Alberta

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 September 2018

Brendan Boyd
Brendan Boyd*
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, Economics and Political Science, MacEwan University, Room 7-368, City Centre Campus, 10700–104 Avenue, Edmonton AB, T5J 4S2
*
*Corresponding author. Email: boydb26@macewan.ca
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Abstract

Alberta is responsible for over a third of Canada's greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Reducing the country's emissions requires policies and initiatives that reduce emissions in the province. Yet the study of provincial climate change policy in Canada has largely focused on lower-emitting provinces like British Columbia, Quebec and Ontario. This article argues that Alberta is best understood as a “reluctant actor” on climate change, whose policies are influenced by decisions and pressures from outside its borders. The literature on Canadian-American environmental policy making and international policy transfer are used to explore provincial GHG targets and carbon pricing policies. The article finds that Alberta's 2002 targets and Specified Gas Emitters Regulation were determined by economic competitiveness and leakage concerns, while the adoption of new GHG targets in 2008 and a carbon tax was the result of policy transfer through political bandwagoning and the desire for reputational benefits.

Résumé

L'Alberta est responsable de plus du tiers des émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES) du Canada. La réduction des émissions du pays exige des politiques et des initiatives qui réduisent les émissions dans la province. Pourtant, l'étude de la politique provinciale sur les changements climatiques au Canada s'est surtout concentrée sur les provinces à faibles émissions comme la Colombie-Britannique, le Québec et l'Ontario. Cet article soutient que l'Alberta est mieux comprise comme un « acteur réticent » du changement climatique, dont les politiques sont influencées par des décisions et des pressions de l'extérieur de ses frontières. La littérature sur l'élaboration des politiques environnementales entre le Canada et les États-Unis et le transfert des politiques internationales sert à explorer les objectifs provinciaux en matière de GES et des politiques de tarification du carbone. L'article conclut que les objectifs de 2002 de l'Alberta et l'actuel règlement Specified Gas Emitters Regulation ont été déterminés par des préoccupations relatives à la compétitivité économique et aux « fuites » de carbone, tandis que l'adoption de nouveaux objectifs en matière de GES en 2008 et d'une taxe sur le carbone a été le résultat d'un transfert de politiques s'expliquant par le suivisme politique et le désir de jouir des avantages d'une bonne réputation.

Type
Research Article/Étude originale
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 52 , Issue 1 , March 2019 , pp. 183 - 199
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2018 

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