# 3 Blog summary

Following 3 E mails about pipelines and carbon tax to the Prime Minister of Canada, my North Vancouver MP and Enbridge, a Canadian pipeline company, I got a satisfactory response from all three recipients. I have written 2 articles based on what I found on the internet. Most of it is expressed in those 3 e mails. The internet is flooded with articles about Enbridge’s pipeline problems: Leakage detection systems which only pick up leaks larger than 1 ½ % of the flow and even than miss a good number of them due to misinterpretation of the instrument signals. 15000 known cracks in a single line remained unattended for 5 years. 4 major spills occurred since 2010. Numerous regulatory violations were noted during construction in 2008. With so many recent problems Enbridge has a hard time convincing British Columbians  that, based on many improvements, the Northern Gateway project will be safe. From abroad there is a lot of opposition to pipelines due to our poor environmental record. Our Kyoto promise was to reduce emissions in 2012 to 6% below 2009 levels. In 2008 we had already increased it by 24% instead of lowering. In Copenhagen the US and Canada both agreed to decrease emissions in 2020 to 17% below 2005 levels. Since that time US emissions have dropped while ours keep rising. The environmentalists and US officials feel that by approving additional pipelines we will expand our oil sands production and again will come nowhere near our reduction targets. Meantime we lose op to $ 30 billion per year because existing pipelines are full and the excess has to be transported by rail, trucks and barges.

A world wide revenue neutral carbon tax, like we have in the province of British Columbia, would solve a lot of these problems if it is also applied to exports. According to http://numero57.net/2008/03/20/carbon-dioxide-emissions-per-barrel-of-crude/ each barrel of crude contains 100.7 kg of carbon. This would yield 100.7x3.15/1000=.317 metric ton of CO₂.   At the present tax of $30 per ton of CO₂ we would cash in an extra $9.52 for every barrel of crude we sell. Furthermore if, like in BC, our national use of petroleum products drops by 17% by taxing them, we will probably have sufficient greenhouse gas reduction to meet our Copenhagen target. Not all environmentalists insist on such a solution. Many object to our export of oil and coal, claiming that it increases worldwide emissions. Not so, as long as the fossil fuel is cheap, demand will increase and when we don’t sell it others will so it makes no difference to the total emissions. As long as there is plenty of fossil fuel available only a carbon tax will reduce the demand and make green energy more economical.

The article “climate change and carbon tax” shows how fast the world’s greenhouse gas emissions have increased, the slow progress in reaching international agreements on carbon tax and the frustration of 100 multinationals, including oil companies, that no clear carbon tax has been established. It also shows that  carbon tax in British Columbia is effective, resulted in 17% reduction of consumption of petroleum product without loss of GDP. China’s environmental progress is reviewed, including it’s intention to implement a carbon tax. It is argued that we have to tax our oil exports in order to encourage China to continue developing carbon capture and storage allowing it’s electric cars to be powered by much greener energy. It mentions the main objection to carbon tax and shows how poor Canada’s environmental records are.

The article “The economic impact of carbon tax” covers the basic principles of carbon tax, cap and trade, the distribution of the proceeds, the misleading figures in the US and Canada for the net cost per average household. It highlights the many advantages of carbon tax over cap and trade. It shows the struggles Australia experienced to establish a carbon tax and the mixed reactions from various industries. Our poor environmental records and resulting loss of revenue are documented. It discusses the development and relative costs of green energy and the global advantages of having a carbon tax on exported coal oil and gas. It also shows how the low income tax in BC, resulting from the carbon tax rebates, encourages US companies to ship their coal through BC ports. It summarises past pipeline failures and exposes many shortcomings in the leak detection and maintenance procedures. It describes some 14 regulations and criteria affecting pipeline quality along with discussion of past failures and the extra provisions for the proposed Northern Gateway pipeline. It also lists 8 important questions related to pipeline safety and marine traffic which have remained unanswered despite an extensive review.

Neil Heesterman

North Vancouver BC

Canada