Bernard Bigras at the Environment and Sustainable Development Committee

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Welcome to this session of the Bill C-288 of the committee.

Thank you Mr. Burton and Mr. Sauchyn for reminding us of the importance of adapting to climate change. Mr. Godfrey told us that this wasn’t the objective of the bill, but we have to admit, especially after the Nairobi conference, that this issue of adapting to climate change is becoming increasingly important. In Quebec, there is a group that you have no doubt heard about, the Ouranos Consortium, which deals with adapting to climate change and which revealed, just two weeks ago, that the estimated cost of the effects of climate change on the St. Lawrence is $1 billion. This shows how important it is to fight climate change.

In Nairobi, the President of Switzerland proposed providing funding for climate change adaptation programs. He proposed a CO₂ tax for industry and consumers. I would like to know what you think of this system that would put a tax on CO₂ emissions, with the revenues going into a climate change adaptation fund. I have always found that adaptation has often been the poor cousin in the federal strategy. Do you think that a CO₂ tax to fund adaptation initiatives would be effective for industry and consumers?