By TOBY COUTURE

In response to rising public pressure about global climate change, our provincial government has recently announced that it would be putting forth a comprehensive climate action plan.

This is great news for the province, and for the people of New Brunswick: it shows that our provincial government is prepared to begin taking decisive measures to reduce its carbon emissions, and that it is also prepared to become a Canadian leader in combating climate change.

However, appearances can be deceiving. A climate action plan doesn't actually mean that action will be taken - it is simply a declaration of intention. One may recall the old proverb that the road to all kinds of undesirable places is paved with good intentions.

That being said, we must be clear about where we're going. This is the question of direction.

Our province has made a recent attempt to address this question with its self-sufficiency task force. Among other objectives, the proponents of the task force are intent on building more power plants, erecting larger and more mechanized pulp and paper mills, and creating a second oil refinery to feed growing U.S. markets.

The natural question now follows: how do these objectives line up with the proposal to implement a comprehensive climate action plan?

The province is currently 47 per cent above its 1990 greenhouse gas emissions level. Our three largest carbon polluters are currently the existing oil refinery, the coal-fired power plant in Belledune, and the Coleson Cove generating station, respectively.

If these are our largest sources of carbon pollution, one self-evident conclusion comes forward: if we want to substantially reduce this pollution, we must put in place
quantitative caps on industrial emissions.

Most chief financial officers across the country likely wince at this kind of language, yet, in the same breath, most accept that it will come, likely sooner than later. In fact, a number are already anticipating what the caps will look like, and are simply waiting for government officials to make up their minds and set the terms.

The sooner these caps are put in place, the sooner industries can begin to factor them into their future planning. The sooner these caps are in place, the sooner New Brunswickers can begin to see concrete emissions reductions, and the sooner all of us can breathe easier.

Dissenters will argue that industries can't cope with quantitative caps, that they will hinder their growth and prosperity. To the contrary, this kind of cap would encourage
innovation, make our industries more efficient, more competitive, and would help accelerate the modernization of our industrial and energy sectors. Further, it would help make our economy as a whole more sustainable.

As acclaimed energy expert Amory Lovins writes, "Climate politics will shift from price, pain, penury, bearing burdens and sharing sacrifices, to profit, enterprise, initiative,
innovation and competitive advantage."

This is the kind of language that is slowly beginning to emerge among politicians and the business community, as the realization dawns on everyone that responding to climate
change is not only good for our world, but can be good for the bottom line, too.

At this point in time, any climate change strategy worth its weight in salt, to say nothing of the paper it is written on, would impose quantitative caps on large industrial emitters, encouraging them to adapt as we collectively move toward a more sustainable and energy efficient future. This would be leadership; indeed, this would be progress.

Toby Couture is climate change researcher at the Conservation Council of New Brunswick in Fredericton.