The Nova Scotia government is trying to save the environment without having residents foot the bill.
The Ecology Action Centre just released its findings from a series of discussions about the province’s proposed cap and trade agreement.
One of the main concerns raised during those meetings was the lack of money being raised to support a green economy.
Spokesperson for the Environment Department Jason Hollett says government’s goal was to make industry responsible for developing green practices.
“If you give the industry or facility the ability to pass all of the cost directly on to the consumer there’s really not an incentive for them to reduce their own emissions. They just throw that cost on to the consumer.”
Hollett says setting a cap will force polluters to innovate in order to meet the environmental standards, and by approaching the problem in this way, it will be industry who will shoulder the burden, not residents.
“The program that we’re developing combines the cap along with the price on the emissions that would be above the cap that they have to achieve. Therefore, you’re driving the emissions down.”
Hollett says the province is working with the federal government to have a plan to reduce carbon emissions in place sometime in 2018.
