A Globally Integrated Climate Policy for Canada

Canada has been an engaged participant in global climate change negotiations since the late 1980s. Until recently, Canadian policy seemed to be driven in large part by a desire to join in multilateral efforts to address climate change. By contrast, current policy is seeking a made in Canada approach to the issue. Recent government-sponsored analytic efforts as well as the government’s own stated policies have been focused almost entirely on domestic regulation and incentives, domestic opportunities for technological responses, domestic costs, domestic carbon markets, and the setting of a domestic carbon price at a level that sends the appropriate marketplace signal to produce needed reductions. A Globally Integrated Climate Policy for Canada builds on the premise that Canada is in need of an approach that effectively integrates domestic priorities and global policy imperatives. Leading Canadian and international experts explore policy ideas and options from a range of disciplinary perspectives, including science, law, political science, economics, and sociology. Chapters explore the costs, opportunities, or imperatives to participate in international diplomatic initiatives and regimes, the opportunities and impacts of regional or global carbon markets, the proper mix of domestic policy tools, the parameters of Canadian energy policy, and the dynamics that propel or hinder the Canadian policy process.