Canadian Carbon Policy Year in Review and Emerging Trends, 2012

The document analyzes Canada's 2012 carbon policy transition, marked by the official withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol and the implementation of federal sector-based regulations for transport and coal-fired electricity. It highlights a growing trend toward 'equivalency agreements' where the federal government defers to provincial policies, potentially leading to a fragmented national landscape. The report also notes provincial initiatives, such as Quebec's cap-and-trade linkage with California and Ontario's coal phase-out, while recommending greater compliance flexibility and a clearer federal policy vision to reduce costs and meet 2020 targets.

• Canada officially withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol on December 15, 2012, but the federal government maintained its commitment to the Copenhagen Accord target of reducing emissions by 17 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020, which equates to a target of 607 million tonnes.
• The federal government accelerated sector-by-sector greenhouse gas regulations in 2012, publishing transport regulations for heavy-duty vehicles in April and finalizing rules for the coal-fired electricity sector in September.
• A significant policy shift occurred with the Canada-Nova Scotia Equivalency Agreement, establishing a precedent where the federal government defers to equivalent provincial policy rather than preempting it.
• Provincial governments are increasingly charting independent paths; notable actions include Quebec's plan to link its cap-and-trade system with California, Ontario's announcement to phase out coal-fired thermal electricity by the end of 2013, and British Columbia's review of its carbon tax system.
• The report warns that the rise of locally tailored equivalency agreements may entrench historical policy fragmentation, increasing the risk of higher compliance costs and failure to meet federal reduction targets.
• The federal government's explicit opposition to a carbon tax, described as a "job-killing carbon tax," has created uncertainty regarding the extent to which compliance flexibility will be allowed in future regulations.

APA

Sawyer, D., Beugin, D., & Gass, P. (2013). Canadian Carbon Policy Year in Review and Emerging Trends, 2012. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/regulating_carbon_canadian_policy.pdf

Chicago

Sawyer, Dave, Dale Beugin, and Philip Gass. Canadian Carbon Policy Year in Review and Emerging Trends, 2012. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2013. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/regulating_carbon_canadian_policy.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sawyer |first1=Dave |last2=Beugin |first2=Dale |last3=Gass |first3=Philip |title=Canadian Carbon Policy Year in Review and Emerging Trends, 2012 |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=February 2013 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/regulating_carbon_canadian_policy.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sawyer2013canadian, author = {Sawyer, Dave and Beugin, Dale and Gass, Philip}, title = {{Canadian Carbon Policy Year in Review and Emerging Trends, 2012}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2013}, month = feb, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/regulating_carbon_canadian_policy.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }