Spending plans for carbon capture, green transit appear stalled

EDMONTON — The Alberta government is struggling to make up for lost time on a number of environmental initiatives in this year’s budget, including everything from carbon capture and storage to public transit and monitoring.

The government says it is confident it will be able to spend $73 million on carbon capture and storage this year, despite budgeting $100 million last year and ultimately spending only about $2 million on the program so far. This technology is the linchpin of Alberta’s plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. In 2008, the province announced it would commit $2 billion to the program.
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As well, the government is expecting to collect $10 million less in its Climate Change Emissions Management Fund. Companies are expected to buy more offsets to reduce their overall greenhouse gas emissions, rather than pay $15 for every tonne they emit over their limit, Carrier said.