The author of Manitoba's green plan says while Manitoba is pledging to not charge a carbon tax, there's another megatonne of carbon reductions just waiting to be implemented.

David McLaughlin ran Premier Brian Pallister's 2016 election campaign and was subsequently tapped to write the "Made-in-Manitoba" climate and green plan. He now works at the International Institute for Sustainable Development as director of climate change for Canada.

The carbon tax was supposed to reduce Manitoba's emissions by one megatonne. With ongoing wrangling between the provincial and federal governments, it's not clear when a tax will be implemented, or whether the plan will make a detour through the legal system. Justin Trudeau has said ultimately, the federal plan will apply to Manitoba if a satisfactory plan isn't implemented by the province.

But the Manitoba plan also included a second megatonne of emissions reductions, through other, smaller changes.

"That obviously is now going to have to be the focus," McLaughlin told CBC's Up To Speed. "Not much of the plan will have to be axed."

On Friday afternoon, a provincial spokesperson said progress is being made on several of those projects.

Other plan items with no update:

5 per cent biodiesel mandate.

Coal phase out.

Recovery of ozone-depleting substances.

Reducing government's emissions in offices, transportation etc.

Agriculture best management practices.

Displacing propane in Churchill. (Complicated by rail-line washout.)

But even if all the remaining pieces of the green plan fall into place, the federal government has said it will implement its carbon tax plan on provinces that don't implement their own.

While Manitoba's plan was for a flat $25 per tonne, the federal plan starts at $20/tonne in Year 1 and increases to $50/tonne.

That means when you fill up your car starting in January — or later if there's a delay in federal implementation — instead of paying 5 cents a litre in carbon taxes, you'll only pay 4 cents.

"Everything has changed and nothing has changed," McLaughlin said.

Bill 16: The Climate and Green Plan Implementation Act will still need to be passed by the Manitoba Legislature before the plan becomes law, and has not been amended to redact the carbon tax.