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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national carbon price alone will not achieve the industrial greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction commitments he made in the United Nations’ 2015 Paris climate accord.

Taxpayers will have to spend billions of dollars more to reach Canada’s target of cutting emissions to 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.

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That’s regardless of whether one accepts Trudeau’s assurance his carbon tax coming April 1 will leave most people better off financially in Ontario, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and New Brunswick, through rebates.

(The six other provinces have federally-approved carbon pricing plans.)

To help meet his 2030 target, Trudeau is considering buying international carbon credits, each giving the bearer the right to emit one tonne of industrial GHG.

The Globe and Mailreported on Dec. 8, 2016 in an article headlined: “Ottawa may have to pay for carbon credits to meet climate targets” that, “the government … holds out the prospect of purchasing credits to fulfill its UN commitment” and “will work at the UN to establish rules for international trading. ‘Once (these) are established, we will evaluate both the need for and opportunity of utilizing international credits …’”