The Greenhouse Gas Emissions Coverage of Carbon Pricing Instruments for Canadian Provinces

Abstract

In this paper we provide a comparison of the coverage of Canadian carbon pricing systems. We define coverage as the proportion and types of emissions priced under the various systems, by emissions source. We compare provincially announced pricing systems to the federal benchmark (the minimum coverage provinces must meet) and the federal backstop, the pricing system that will be imposed on provinces with insufficient coverage or who opt to not develop their own policies. For those provinces that have not yet introduced a carbon price we look only at coverage under the federal benchmark and the federal backstop. We find the majority of provincial pricing systems meet or exceed the federal benchmark. Our results also point to the importance of additional complementary policies to address significant sources of unpriced emissions, primarily in agriculture and fugitive sources.