Smart Environmental Policy with Full-Cost Pricing

Abstract

Canada’s natural capital — its resources, ecosystems and wildlife — are indispensable to the productivity of industry. Despite this, both the public and private sectors have failed to adequately factor in the consequences of production and consumption on the natural environment. There is a growing need for full-cost pricing, a system that adjusts market prices to reflect not only the direct costs of good and services, but also their impact on this country’s natural capital. As this paper argues, the onus is on the federal government to create the conditions for full-cost pricing to succeed. Ottawa needs to eliminate energy subsidies (to producers and consumers), implement full-cost pricing on air contaminants and greenhouse gases and encourage projects at the provincial and municipal levels that adopt that methodology. The benefits include productivity gains; potentially billions in savings for consumers, businesses and governments; a strong environment supporting sustainable industries; and simplified tax systems. In surveying past and existing federal initiatives and missed opportunities in previous budgets, this paper assesses costs and consequences, arguing that a healthy environment is synonymous with a healthy economy, and providing hard data to back up that conviction. With Budget 2012 just around the corner, the time is ripe for the Harper government to introduce full-cost pricing, and guarantee Canada a brighter future.