The Effects of Pricing Canadian Livestock Emissions

Abstract

I examine the environmental and economic effects of pricing greenhouse gas emissions from livestock in Canada. Using a partial equilibrium model, I consider three different pricing policies: a consumer level tax, a producer level tax, and a producer subsidy. All policies price emissions at $50 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent. The producer level tax generates the greatest reduction in emissions at the lowest social cost per unit of emissions abatement. The producer subsidy results in a smaller reduction in emissions at a higher social cost, relative to the producer tax. However, the subsidy provides a substantial increase in producer surplus, which may make it a politically feasible second‐best policy. The consumer level tax results in a trivial reduction in emissions, at a social cost that is greater than the price placed on emissions. J'examine les effets environnementaux et économiques de l'imposition d'un prix sur les gaz à effets de serre provenant des animaux d'élevage canadiens. Au moyen d'un modèle d'équilibre partiel, je tiens compte de trois différentes politiques d'imposition de prix : taxer le consommateur, taxer le producteur, et subventionner le producteur. Toutes les politiques imposent les émissions au prix de 50$ par tonne en équivalent de dioxyde de carbone. Taxer l'éleveur génère la plus grande réduction des émissions au plus bas coût social par unité de réduction des émissions. Subventionner l'éleveur entraéne une plus petite réduction des émissions à coût social plus élevé, en comparaison û la taxe imposée à l'éleveur. Par contre, le choix de subventionner fournit une augmentation substantielle de surplus pour l'éleveur, faisant de cette option un bon deuxième choix envisageable au niveau politique. Taxer le consommateur ne produit qu'une réduction négligeable des émissions, à coût social plus élevé que le taux imposé sur les émissions.

Assessing the impact of future greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas production

“…else as the additional length drilled per day 11 . Table 2 specifies total emissions from drilling activity;…”

“…In Eq. (A.4), R 0,i •CO 2,prep 11 A continuous time formulation is adopted for tractability; differences from daily or monthly drill rates will be small for large fields in which the smallest time scale in the production profile is typically of the order of several years.…”

“…While much effort has been put to representing the cost and environmental impacts of natural gas production and infrastructure development, there has been little focus on internalising methane emissions to our knowledge. Some recent studies have investigated the impacts of a methane price or tax on agricultural practices, for cattle rearing [10] [11], and different methods of regulating or reducing methane emissions from the gas sector are assessed in [9] from a policy perspective, where it is suggested that a direct tax on emissions may be preferable to technological or performance-based standards in terms of cost and environmental effectiveness. However, no studies were found that estimate the cost impact of a methane tax on the oil and gas industry.…”

Opportunities for precision livestock management in the face of climate change: a focus on extensive systems

“…The North Australian Pastoral Company (NAPCo) has launched a carbon neutral product, “Five-Founders” ( North Australian Pastoral Company, 2021 ), while the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) has promoted the system-wide concept of “Brazilian Carbon Neutral” beef ( Alves et al, 2017 ). In contrast, in Canada, the government announced a raise in tax for high emission products, such as beef, as a stimulus for consumers to shift their consumption to lower emission alternatives ( Slade, 2018 ). Consumers demand high transparency along the supply chain, and PLM technology could act to validate certification claims and provide consumers with access to end-product emission estimates from across the supply chain, with particular focus on extensive livestock systems ( Alfian et al, 2017 ).…”

“…A developing market exists for PLM technologies in mitigating the impacts of climate change in extensive livestock enterprises. Government organizations and industry bodies are increasingly developing policy that moves toward carbon neutrality ( Alves et al, 2017 ; Slade, 2018 ; Red Meat Advisory Council, 2020 ). These policies either incentivize carbon reduction or penalize GHG emissions.…”