The provincial government has begun to outline its plans to introduce a cap-and-trade system in Ontario as it prepares to join the federal government at the climate change conference in Paris beginning Monday.

Cap-and-trade will put a price on carbon and, over time, limit the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions in Ontario.

So far the province has been long on rhetoric about the need to combat climate change but short on key details, such as how much a cap-and-trade regime will cost Ontario residents.

The government’s own estimates to date indicate that 90% of the provincial economy will be directly or indirectly covered by cap-and-trade.

One area of the economy that will be directly impacted is the transportation sector which according to Ontario’s Climate Change Update 2014 accounts for about 34% of greenhouse emissions in Ontario, the largest emitting sector in the province.

Ontarians have experience leading the charge against climate change. The decision to close coal-fired power plants in Ontario was the single most significant measure taken to date in North America. To get off coal, Ontario replaced dirty megawatts with cleaner wind, solar and natural gas generation.

In many ways, however, closing coal plants was the low-hanging fruit of addressing climate change, especially when compared to the challenge presented by the transportation sector.

Provincial leaders need to be up front with Ontarians as they shape their cap-and-trade plans. The cost of using gasoline and diesel will increase and these costs will be passed on to the consumer in higher prices for goods and services.

Yet, we’re beyond the point of questioning the need to act, it is time to find the best plan forward at the best cost — and this should mean embracing electric vehicles for personal transportation.

And to tackle the immediate challenge posed by moving large volumes of goods and people, Ontario needs to take advantage of natural gas. When compared to the typical diesel engine, natural gas is clean, reliable and affordable, moving goods and people with up to 30% fewer greenhouse gas emissions and lower costs arising from cap and trade.

Ontario has an existing supply of reliable natural gas and an advanced distribution system that serves many of the communities along our busiest transportation routes.

The Paris conference presents an excellent opportunity for Ontario’s leaders to ensure the combination of urban transport electrification with the use of natural gas for larger, long-haul regional transportation is part of a national strategy to address climate change and remind Ontarians that there is no more low-hanging fruit to tackle this global challenge.

Ontario has already shown it can be a climate change leader — and by prudently embracing the benefits of natural gas it can continue to do so.

— Dr. Philip Walsh, P.Geo, is an associate professor at Ryerson University’s Centre for Urban Energy