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Additionally, the government announced a hard cap on emissions from the oil sands; currently, the projects produce 70 megatons of carbon dioxide annually. A 100 megaton cap would cover projected growth until 2030, at least. It also doesn’t limit oil sands production, per se, but rather demands that production adopt more innovative technologies, thus reducing its carbon footprint to something closer to conventional oil in the long run.

The plan also demands 45 per cent reduction in methane emissions produced by the oil and gas sector, a target that can, hopefully, be addressed by technological improvements.

Lastly, the plan calls for a broad $30 per tonne carbon tax that will increase the tax bill for every Albertan. By 2018, it will cost an additionally $470 annually.

The government promised the tax will be “revenue neutral,” with proceeds funnelled back into credits and renewable energy rather than debt. Much of it will be directed to low-income Albertans, in particular.

A broad carbon tax does have a few benefits; in particular it addresses the fallacies of supply-side environmentalism — the idea that penalizing those dastardly oil companies will somehow prevent climate change while sparing the rest of us the inconvenience of having to alter our behaviour.

Of course, the usual quarters will object to the task force’s plan. As much as Notley would like to portray the recommendations as the beginning of a new post-oil era, the province is unlikely to transform into the promised land of Birkenstocks and solar farms any time soon.