Members of the committee, thank you for having me.
I represent Climate Action Network Canada, which brings together nearly 200 unions, development groups, faith groups, indigenous groups and the country's leading environmental organizations working together on climate change.
Climate Action Network Canada and its members have been working for years to ensure that the biggest polluters in the Canadian economy are held accountable and pay the costs they are imposing on society as a whole.
Canada's latest national inventory report, which was published last week, makes clear that climate progress has stalled. Oil and gas emissions continue to rise, while other sectors like electricity are decreasing their impact. Since key measures have been weakened, paused or set aside during the past year, progress towards the 2030 and 2035 targets as well as the net-zero by 2050 commitment will now depend even more on the strength and credibility of Canada's industrial carbon pricing, as will our ability to maintain competitiveness in a global economy that is rapidly accelerating the adoption of net-zero technologies. This matters. It matters for Canadian workers, consumers and industries, especially given the complex times that we find ourselves in.
It's been quite troubling to note that some witnesses to this committee have failed to understand how industrial carbon-pricing systems work or have amplified common misinformation. Industrial carbon pricing does not increase household costs. Unlike the consumer carbon levy, industrial pricing does not affect the price of fuel used by households and has very little pass-through to other household purchases or services.
Analysis by the Canadian Climate Institute shows that the impact of the industrial carbon price on the average household out to 2030 is negligible. The policy, likewise, has minimal impact on the agricultural sector. This marginal impact, however, is completely overshadowed by the far more significant effect of inflation driven by war, by climate change and by the Canadian economy's over-dependence on fossil fuels, whether as consumer or producer. The surge in global prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine as well as the shock caused by the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran illustrate the consequences of this over-dependence.
As climate change accelerates, food prices are increasingly being affected by extreme weather events, drought and unfavourable growing conditions. All of these have inflationary impacts on Canadians. For instance, the Centre for Future Work has found that from 2022 to 2024, the cumulative direct and indirect costs caused by fossil fuel-driven inflation totalled roughly $12,000 of inflation per household.
Despite all of this evidence, in its efforts to eviscerate climate policy in this country, the oil and gas industry and its supporters have been promoting the idea that the trajectory of industrial carbon pricing will lead to an additional $20 per barrel in 2030. The Canadian Climate Institute has calculated the real compliance cost from oil sands facilities, using data published by Alberta; and they find the effective average cost, across all facilities, comes closer to 50¢ per barrel in 2030.
If fuel prices remain at current levels, Canadian oil and gas companies are projected to rake in profits of $90 billion from the Iran war. I am sincerely struggling to find words to respond to the suggestion that they can't afford to pay the cost of a Timbit per barrel.
It's been nearly one year since the new government was elected, and Climate Action Network Canada and its members are getting impatient to see the Carney administration show its cards and implement this policy. It's high time that the government showed its resolve to the many voters who cast a vote of confidence based on the Prime Minister's climate credibility and are wondering what happened to that enthusiasm.
At this point, the network and its members are ready for our industrial carbon pricing system to finally be updated. We're waiting for you.
Thank you very much.
I will be pleased to answer your questions.