Canada aims to fix industrial carbon pricing: how to make it work

The Canadian Climate Institute asserts that Canada's industrial carbon pricing is currently a "hodgepodge of rules" that fails to drive significant investment in low-carbon projects. While the federal government is reviewing its minimum national standards (the federal benchmark), the Institute finds the current proposal insufficient to deliver intended emissions outcomes. To fix this, the Institute recommends ensuring a minimum effective carbon credit price of $130 per tonne by 2030, implementing non-negotiable conditions such as increasing emissions performance standards and price floors/ceilings, and mandating transparent, credible data disclosure on emitter compliance and actual prices paid.

• Canada's industrial carbon pricing is currently fragmented across various provincial and federal systems, resulting in "broken markets" that fail to incentivize large-scale investments in low-carbon projects.
• The provincial system in Alberta is the most significant in Canada, accounting for approximately 25% of the country's national emissions.
• The Canadian Climate Institute concludes that the federal government's current proposal to update the benchmark is inadequate and may allow systems to pass federal tests without achieving the necessary emissions and investment results.
• To ensure effectiveness, the federal benchmark should mandate a minimum effective carbon credit price of $130 per tonne by 2030, noting that headline prices can be misleading; for instance, Alberta's headline price is $95 per tonne while actual credit prices have traded below $20 per tonne.
• The federal government should implement non-negotiable conditions for provincial flexibility, including ratcheting up carbon price floors and ceilings over time, increasing emissions performance standards, and limiting compliance options that weaken incentives for emission-reducing technologies.
• There is a critical lack of transparent, public information regarding how emitters comply with carbon pricing and the actual prices they pay, necessitating government-mandated disclosure for independent verification.

APA

Canadian Climate Institute (2026). Canada aims to fix industrial carbon pricing: how to make it work. https://climateinstitute.ca/canada-aims-to-fix-industrial-carbon-pricing-how-to-make-it-work/

Chicago

Canadian Climate Institute. Canada aims to fix industrial carbon pricing: how to make it work. 2026. https://climateinstitute.ca/canada-aims-to-fix-industrial-carbon-pricing-how-to-make-it-work/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Canadian Climate Institute |title=Canada aims to fix industrial carbon pricing: how to make it work |date=12 February 2026 |url=https://climateinstitute.ca/canada-aims-to-fix-industrial-carbon-pricing-how-to-make-it-work/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{canadianclimateinstitute2026canada, author = {{Canadian Climate Institute}}, title = {{Canada aims to fix industrial carbon pricing: how to make it work}}, publisher = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2026}, month = feb, url = {https://climateinstitute.ca/canada-aims-to-fix-industrial-carbon-pricing-how-to-make-it-work/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }