British Columbia, Canada
 Vancouver, British Columbia. (Wikimedia Commons) |
British Columbia’s carbon tax — which took effect in 2008 — has been characterized as the heftiest in the Western Hemisphere. It has helped reduce the province’s emissions by 19 per cent per capita, compared to the rest of Canada, and fuel consumption has declined an estimated 15 to 17 percent. Over the same period, the BC economy outperformed the country on the whole.
In fact, British Columbia has joined with three American states — Washington, Oregon and California — to devise the Pacific Coast Action Plan on Climate and Energy; their plan is to cut greenhouse gas emissions — particularly those related to transportation — and strengthen infrastructure, creating a united West Coast. These jurisdictions collectively represent 53 million people, and an economic region with a combined GDP of $2.8 trillion — making it the world’s fifth-largest economy. |
