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However, the Canadian government has committed to cutting its emissions to 30 per cent under 2005 levels by 2030, a target that — if followed by Alberta — would require the province to reach a level of 163 megatonnes by that year.

Alberta Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said Ottawa has the right to set the national targets but she downplayed their significance.

“We are putting in policies that get results. We are less interested in theoretical targets; we are more interested in actual action,” said Phillips.

“This is a national conversation that the feds — if they’re going to wed themselves to targets — that they need to come to the table with a robust plan for how to get there that protects Canada’s competitiveness.”

Under the NDP plan, Alberta introduced a broad-based carbon tax at the start of 2017 to accompany the existing levy on large emitters such as the oilsands. The carbon tax was initially priced at an equivalent of $20 per tonne of carbon emissions, increasing to $30 this year.

The levy system on industrial emitters was also revamped this year, with a current base price of $30 per tonne. In conjunction with the federal Liberal government’s mandate for provinces to price carbon, the carbon tax and levy on large emitters are slated to increase to $40 a tonne in 2021 and $50 in 2022.

On Wednesday, the United Conservative Party, which has defined itself against the broad-based carbon tax, said a leaked federal memo suggests Ottawa will look to boost the carbon price beyond $50 a tonne after 2022 and force provinces to follow suit.