According to media reports(external link), France’s Minister of the Environment, Philippe Martin, last week announced the Socialist government’s intention to bring in a “climate and energy levy” (contribution énergie-climat) this fall, which is for all intents and purposes a carbon tax.

Sustainable Prosperity’s recent review of the impacts of British Columbia carbon tax shift points to a number of encouraging economic and environmental trends in the province. GHG emissions and fossil fuel use are declining, tax rates on corporations and individuals have been reduced, and the province’s economic growth has not suffered in any discernible way. In short, the carbon tax is behaving pretty much as advertised.

One of the underplayed parts of the BC carbon tax story, though, is the impact at a structural level.

Sometimes a small number can add to a lot. And when that number is used to make big decisions, then we should sit up and pay attention.

The idea that the environment has real economic benefits and costs for businesses is finally gaining traction in the corporate world.

This blog was co-writen by Cherise Burda, Pembina Institute and Stephanie Cairns, Sustainable Prosperity.

This week the Toronto Region Board of Trade released its bold proposal to address gridlock and expand transit in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA). The benefit of the four tools proposed by the Board is that they can be spread among the tax base, be kept relatively low for each tool, such as for a regional sales tax and fuel tax, and not hit one sector or user group hard.

Business strategy is about trying to predict the future, and be prepared for it, which is why so many Canadian oil and gas, electricity and pipeline companies are using a “shadow” carbon price.

Fans of Sherlock Holmes know his maxim about the dog that didn't bark in the night: sometimes the significance of an event lies in what didn't happen, rather than what did.

In the case of British Columbia's 2013 budget, the dog that didn't bark is the province's carbon tax – still controversial, but still untouched by a provincial government facing a bruising battle for its survival.

Competitiveness in the context of carbon pricing is generally narrowly understood as the impacts on emission-intensive and trade-exposed (EITE) industries. A full and informed discussion of the impact of climate policy on competitiveness is needed to give policy-makers a more accurate picture of how to plan and deliver climate policy options.