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A new regime for charging Alberta’s big greenhouse gas emitters to pollute should prevent the federal government from imposing its own industrial carbon tax on the province, the environment minister hopes.

If passed by the legislature, the Alberta government’s new Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) program should knock Alberta’s greenhouse gas emissions down by 32 to 57 megatonnes from where they were projected to be by 2030, computer models show.

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The government is also relying on investment in emission-reducing technology to prevent another 25 megatonnes of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere annually by 2030. TIER would take effect Jan. 1.

“I trust the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit that is Alberta’s industry,” Alberta Environment and Parks Minister Jason Nixon said in a Tuesday interview.

The government predicts industry will save $330 million in emissions compliance costs in 2020. The plan is supposed to balance the need for combating climate change with the viability of oil and gas.