GNWT Carbon Tax Report 2019-2020

Type of resource: 
File
Publication date: 
December, 2020
Description: 

The Northwest Territories’ carbon tax was introduced September 1, 2019 as one of the Government of the Northwest Territories’ (GNWT) commitments under the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change and is a key component of the GNWT’s Climate Change Strategic Framework.

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Executive Summary: 

By signing the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change on December 6, 2016, the GNWT committed to introducing a price on carbon in the territory that would increase over time to $50 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions by 2022-23.

The Northwest Territories carbon pricing plan was devised through discussions with the 18th Legislative Assembly and numerous stakeholders. The GNWT worked with the federal government on the implications of carbon pricing in the Northwest Territories, held a public engagement from July to September 2017 that resulted in 382 respondents to an online survey and communication with 104 stakeholder groups, and met with mining sector representatives on several occasions to discuss the GNWT’s approach to its carbon pricing commitment.

The GNWT’s Pan-Canadian Framework carbon pricing commitment was met by
implementing a carbon tax on various carbon-based fuels but that exempts aviation fuel. The GNWT’s carbon pricing approach is intended to encourage carbon conservation and substitution to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while minimizing the effect on the local cost of living or on creating additional barriers to economic development. The GNWT has made priority investments in alternative energy options for territorial residents and businesses and expects to continue making alternative energy investments while working closely with the federal and other NWT governments and NWT residents to provide reliable, affordable alternatives to carbon-intensive fuels for communities and businesses.

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