Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall speaks to reporters prior to a meeting of the Council of the Federation in Regina on Aug. 7, 2009.GEOFF HOWE/The Canadian Press
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall is holding up U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to cut greenhouse-gas emissions as one that Canada should consider, noting it is less stringent than what Ottawa has proposed and eases the burden on the coal industry.
Mr. Wall's comments indicate there may be some way to get Saskatchewan and Alberta on side with the other eight provinces on climate change.
Most provinces want large resource producers to be treated the same as everyone else when it comes to reducing carbon emissions. Saskatchewan and Alberta want leniency for their major emitters, including the oil sands.
Mr. Wall said the U.S. plan eases the burden on the coal industry, which is one of the main contributors to greenhouse-gas emissions. U.S. plans for cuts are not as deep as those of the Canadian government.
Saskatchewan and Alberta both have deep reserves of oil, which requires coal-produced electricity to extract and refine. Both have also expressed deep concerns about moving too aggressively on emission reductions, saying that could kneecap their economies.
"Let's take a careful look at what the Americans are proposing, maybe it can work," Mr. Wall said as Canada's premiers concluded their annual three-day get-together. "But understand that that means the emission targets are lower … and also let's remember that the American plan, supported by the Obama administration, is going to provide significant concessions to coal-based economies."
A bill before the U.S. Congress calls for greenhouse-gas reductions of 17 per cent below 2005 levels by the year 2020, three percentage points lower than the Canadian target. The U.S. bill would also give subsidies to electricity consumers of coal-fired generating states.
Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach said he still has difficulty with the Obama plan, which allows the President to apply penalties at the border for pollution offenders from outside the country.
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said each province has its own approach, but Ontario wants to get rid of coal.
"We believe we should just eliminate coal-fired generation and embrace renewables."
Alberta and Saskatchewan oppose "cap-and-trade" schemes to reduce carbon emissions, Under a cap-and-trade system, companies are given a maximum amount of carbon gases they can release. Those who exceed those maximums must buy credits from companies that produce less than their allotted amount.
Producing provinces such as Alberta would prefer another system that reduces carbon emissions on every barrel of oil that is produced, which allows for overall production to increase, while per-capita pollution drops. Alberta says that's the only way the oil sands can continue to grow.
The premiers' meeting took place as the federal government puts together its strategy in time for climate-change meetings in Copenhagen in December, where countries will try to find a successor agreement to the Kyoto Accord. Some premiers, including Quebec's Jean Charest, have said they plan to attend that meeting.