Industrial carbon pricing has three times the impact on emissions as consumer carbon tax: report

As the federal government faces increasing political pressure to halt a planned increase to its consumer carbon tax, a new report shows industrial carbon pricing has three times the impact on greenhouse gas emissions as the consumer tax.

The independent analysis from the Canadian Climate Institute, released Thursday, shows that the current suite of federal government climate policies is set to significantly reduce Canada's emissions.

The report found that carbon pricing — both the consumer and industrial versions — is projected to reduce emissions by as much as 50 per cent by 2030.

Much of the debate over carbon pricing centres on what many call the carbon tax, the consumer version of the national price on carbon. The report shows the pricing policy for large emitters accounts for most of the projected emissions cuts.

The institute's report says industrial carbon pricing is projected to contribute «between 23 and 39 per cent (or 53 to 90 megatonnes) of avoided emissions from all policies implemented to date.»

The report says the consumer carbon price accounts for between 8 and 9 per cent (or 19 to 22 megatonnes) of projected emissions reductions.

In other words, the industrial carbon price is driving three times the emissions reductions attributed to the consumer carbon price, said Dale Beugin, executive vice-president of the Canadian Climate Institute.

«Unambiguously, the policies that are in place are working and have been working, and industrial carbon pricing is leading the way,» Beugin told CBC. «It is by far the biggest contributor to emissions reductions.»

But Beugin cautions against seeing the institute's analysis as a licence to drop the consumer carbon price and maintain carbon pricing for big polluters.

«Our analysis