Is a thousandth of a degree worth this?

Vincent J. Curtis

17 July 21

RE: Do Liberals have a plan for zero emission vehicles? Torstar editorial 12 July 21

The Torstar editorial piece cast rare shade onto the climate change planning of Prime Minister Trudeau.  This was over Trudeau’s declaration that every new car sold in Canada after 2035 would have to be electric.  There are sound reasons to doubt the utility of the declaration, other that as an election ploy – to remind voters who their friend is on climate change.

No one asked Trudeau what would be the environmental benefit of nothing but electric vehicles after 2035.  For example, by how much would the increase in global temperature be reduced as a result of this extremely expensive undertaking?  What did the cost-benefit analysis say?

My estimate is that Canada’s going all-electric after 2035 would reduce the prospective increase in global temperature by less than a thousandth of a degree.  For less than a thousandth of a degree, Canadians will be forced by buy vehicles tens of thousands of dollars more expensive than gas-powered vehicles, and there could be no subsidy as there exists now for EVs.  Can Ford Focus buyers afford a Tesla? In addition, Trudeau mentioned no provision for the loss of fuel taxes that pay for road construction and improvements.

Furthermore, planning needs to begin within five years to construct numerous nuclear power plants to be able to recharge all those batteries.  The declaration applies to all of Canada, and so-called renewables aren’t feasible in many parts of Canada, leaving nuclear as the only non-carbon alternative.

The declaration is an admission that the carbon-tax regime will fail.  Paradoxically, the more successful the carbon tax is, the less benefit there is to be obtained by switching to all EVs.

-30-