Getting It Right
The international and national climate change debates are unfolding with increasing speed. Governments around the globe, and certainly governments across Canada, agree on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At issue remain the appropriate pace of action and the suite of policy tools that should be brought into play.
Given that climate change policy debates rotate around how we produce and use energy, the rapid evolution of the climate change debate will trigger a corresponding debate on energy policy; the climate change and energy files are two sides of the same policy coin. Establishing effective energy policy is a critical part of the efforts of Canadian jurisdictions working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It is therefore an appropriate time to ask a basic question: what are the energy policies we need as a country for a carbon-constrained world?
It is essential to stress that this is an open question; there is no presumption about how it might be answered by Canadians or their governments. It is also essential to place the question against the constitutional backdrop of the Canadian federal state, where provincial governments have widespread jurisdictional authority relating to natural resources and energy policy. Thus any truly national approach to energy policy will necessarily entail a complex amalgamation of federal, provincial and territorial policies, and indeed policies adopted by large urban centres.
At the same time, this complexity should not deter us from asking what energy policies we will need, for the climate change debate makes this question inevitable. At issue, then, is not whether Canada will have an energy policy framework, but will we get it right? Will we move forward by design or by happenstance? Will we have a policy architecture that will enhance our economic sustainability and competitiveness, or will we end up by default with an architecture that will compromise important Canadian interests, values and aspirations? Perhaps of greatest importance, where should the desired policy architecture be located within our jurisdictionally and regionally complex federal state?
How, then, can the Canada West Foundation contribute to this discussion? We argue that the national discussion should begin in the West, although certainly not end in western Canada. The reason for this is not just that western Canadians have a lot of skin in the game, and a great deal of experience and expertise to bring to the table. Rather, the West, with some of Canada’s most energy-rich provinces and experienced energy experts, provides the best region in which to test the waters for a national discussion. The trail-breaking work can be done here, work that will enable us to identify the swamps, pitfalls and common ground. If western Canadians can engage in a constructive and creative discussion, then political leaders in other regions and nationally may be more willing to expand this discussion.
The Canada West Foundation is taking the lead to encourage the development of an integrated, effective energy policy framework that works for our country and helps tackle global climate change. The Canada West Foundation is an appropriate organization for this work because we have not staked out ground on the climate change or energy files. We can, therefore, serve as an honest broker. At the same time, our willingness to initiate this discussion will help demonstrate that western Canada can serve as a constructive starting point for a national debate rather than as an obstacle to that debate. As we will argue throughout the process, there has never been a better time for western Canadian policy leadership, and policy leadership on the national stage. If Canada truly aspires to be a “clean energy superpower,” it is time to begin to think through, and talk through, the policy architecture that will take us to this destination.