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Just the Facts: Did the carbon tax shift burden or buoy B.C’s economy?

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We've just finished crunching the numbers to see how British Columbia’s pioneering carbon tax shift performed in its first five years.

“Never let the facts stand in the way of a good story,” Mark Twain famously wrote. In an op-ed published today in the Globe and Mail, a leading economist and a successful mining entrepreneur do just that.

On June 19th, 2013 rain began pouring from the Alberta sky and, combined with meltwater from the previous winter’s large snowpack, didn’t stop until it had caused the largest recorded flood in the region’s history.

Here at SP, we don’t just talk our talk--we walk it. And in some cases, we run it.

Sustainable Prosperity brought together at the University of Ottawa on April 28 and 29 some of the most prominent environment-economy thinkers in the world. We asked them for their “Big Ideas for Sustainable Prosperity” — and wow, did they ever think big. Don’t worry if you weren’t there in person or didn’t catch the live webcast – we’ve got 10 top highlights recapped below, with videos of each presentation available here under the "Presentation Day 1" and "Presentation Day 2" tabs, organized in the same order as the 10 highlights below.

Top 10 Highlights

This week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) will be releasing the third of its “assessment reports.” These reports come in batches of three, every 6 or 7 years, with the fifth set of three coming out now.

Guess what, Canadians… turns out the bank ad on TV is right. You really are “richer than you think”!

Two weeks ago, SP released our second annual Survey, Environmental Markets in Canada: 2013

Last week, here at SP we launched “Environmental Markets in Canada: 2013”, our second annual survey of Canadian environmental markets. We looked at 52 environmental markets in the areas of air & carbon; water; and biodiversity & habitat, in order to estimate the total value of environmental markets in Canada.

We all participate in markets every day – usually as buyers, sometimes as sellers, often as observers. There are markets for just about everything – for goods, for services, and even for less tangible things like knowledge. However, one way that we’re not used to thinking about markets is as a policy tool for environmentally sustainable development.

Just the Facts: Did the carbon tax shift burden or buoy B.C’s economy?

Just the facts, please: The true story of how B.C’s carbon tax is working

Receding Waters: Alberta floods 1 year later

Walking the Talk - SP team runs for biodiversity

10 Big Highlights from "Big Ideas"

When patience isn’t a virtue – why Canada needs a carbon price

An Embarrassment of Riches: Canada's Natural Capital

Crunching the Numbers on Environmental Markets in Canada

What is an "Environmental Market" anyway?

Environmental Markets in Canada 2013: Insights from Sustainable Prosperity’s Annual Survey