San Francisco Chronicle

The Bay Area air quality district became the first in the nation on Wednesday to impose fees on businesses that pump some of the highest levels of carbon dioxide into the air each year.

The 15-1 vote by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District sets the stage for 2,500 companies and agencies – from supermarkets to gas stations to power plants – to pay 4.4 cents for every metric ton of carbon dioxide they expel, beginning July 1.

Toronto Star

As first announced in the spring budget, the Ontario government is extending the provincial sales tax exemption on energy-efficient appliances and most bicycles.

The Toronto Star

Ontario is slapping fees on TVs and computers to increase the recycling of electronics in the first phase of a program that will eventually see similar fees apply to nearly all other electronic products.

The Globe and Mail

The expert panel that in many ways triggered this summer’s polarized political debate over carbon taxes will release a report this fall – possibly on the eve of a federal election – on whether the controversial policy is the best way to fight climate change.

The Vancouver Sun

British Columbia’s new carbon tax, applied to virtually all fossil fuels (including gasoline, diesel, natural gas, coal, propane and home-heating fuel) will be effective on Canada Day, July 1st. Prices at the pump will see a 2.41 cent per litre increase.

The Globe and Mail

Canada’s corporate executives have cooled in their enthusiasm for carbon taxes or “cap-and-trade” systems, as high oil prices and economic concerns make them leery of policies that will boost the cost of doing business.

The Vancouver Sun

Just as British Columbia passes the first carbon tax in Canada into law, a new poll by McAllister Opinion Research has revealed that more than 70 per cent of Canadians support British Columbia’s carbon tax as a “positive step” towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

British Columbia’s carbon tax plays a key role in the government’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is being challenged by dozens of northern communities in BC, claiming that the tax discriminates rural and northern residents.

Stéphane Dion believes that putting a price on carbon is key to fighting climate change. “We need to make the costs of damaging our environment immediately visible and let polluters know they can’t continue to dump pollution into our atmosphere for free.”

Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion is looking into ways to fight climate change, with carbon tax as a serious consideration.