Thank you, Anne-Raphaëlle, and to the committee members for the opportunity to appear today.
Given the time constraints, I will focus on only two key areas of the comprehensive pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change of importance for the renewable electricity sector. The first is putting a price on carbon pollution and the second is the federal government's leadership in committing to power their operations with 100% renewable electricity by 2025.
Also, I'll comment on the role of internationally transferred mitigation outcomes, or ITMOs, and climate finance in Canada's broader climate change and clean growth strategy.
The first of the four pillars of the pan-Canadian framework is putting a price on carbon pollution. CanCORE believes that a pan-Canadian clean, fair and effective price signal with long-term policy certainty that shifts investment over time away from emitting toward non-emitting electricity generation sources is our single largest critical success factor for climate action.
Carbon pricing is effective at reducing emissions in the electricity sector. For example, the emissions intensity of Alberta's electricity system has declined steadily, in part as a result of the province's specified gas emitters regulation introduced in 2007 and the carbon competitiveness regulation introduced in 2018.
It has been estimated by the Alberta Climate Change Office that in 2018 the emissions from coal-fired electricity will have been 12 megatonnes to 15 megatonnes less than that of the previous year.
The regional greenhouse gas initiative, or RGGI, was the first mandatory cap and trade program in the United States to limit the emissions of the electricity sector. RGGI was established in 2005, and it's expected to help the states reduce annual emissions in the electricity sector by 45% below 2005 levels by 2020. These states have set a goal of reducing electricity emissions an additional 30% by 2030.
These are examples of three different approaches to carbon pricing in one Canadian province and soon to be 11 U.S. states that have been effective. There are many other examples from around the world of carbon pricing being designed and implemented to account for regional differences or deliver varying policy objectives.
CanCORE welcomes the release of the preliminary details of the federal carbon pricing backstop. It's an important step forward for the pan-Canadian framework and CanCORE continues to be an active participant in ECCC's consultation around the design of the design of the output-based pricing system.
We welcome the proposed new direction whereby multiple standards are applied within electricity to account for the complexity of the sector, and we will continue to advocate for a standard that ensures clear price signals are sent to new emitting electricity generation facilities, including natural gas.
Unfettered investment in new emitting electricity generation could run counter to our climate action and clean growth goals, including our 90% non-emitting electricity target, and/or lead to the stranding of assets. We will continue to voice these issues to the department throughout the consultation process.
Finally, climate finance and internationally transferable mitigation outcomes, or ITMOs, are important tools in Canada's toolbox to demonstrate international leadership while supporting Canadian renewable electricity technologies, services and expertise to play a greater role in the global economy.
Careful consideration will need to be given to how international credits interplay with our national emissions targets and markets. Limits and a floor carbon price could ensure that price signals from carbon pricing are not unduly compromised.