(Adds comment from industry and environmental groups)
By Mike De Souza
CALGARY, Nov 22 (Reuters) - The Canadian province of
Alberta, home to the country's controversial oil sands, said on
Sunday it will implement an economy-wide tax on carbon emissions
in 2017, addressing long-standing criticism it is not doing
enough to combat climate change.
The provincial government estimated the plan, including a
pledge to phase out pollution from coal-fired electricity
generation by 2030 and a limit on emissions from the province's
oil sands industry, would generate C$3 billion ($2.25 billion)
in annual revenue.
Backed by prominent representatives from industry and the
environmental movement, Premier Rachel Notley said the province
was trying to do the right thing for the future.
Notley will bring her plan into a meeting on Monday of
Canadian premiers with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, to prepare
Canada's national strategy at the upcoming Paris climate change
summit.
Notley's left-leaning New Democratic Party took power
earlier this year, ending 44 years of Conservative rule.
"It will help us access new markets for our energy products,
and diversify our economy with renewable energy and energy
efficiency technology," Notley said in Edmonton. "Alberta is
showing leadership on one of the world's biggest problems."
Alberta has the world's third largest crude reserves, but
its oil sands industry is also Canada's fastest growing source
of greenhouse gas emissions.
That status has prompted fierce opposition from
environmental groups to proposed pipelines that would allow the
industry to access new markets, including the recently rejected
Keystone XL pipeline, proposed by TransCanada Corp TRP.TO .
Alberta's energy sector has also been hammered with
thousands of layoffs in recent months due to slumping global oil
prices.
Several major oil companies, including Suncor Energy Inc
SU.TO , Cenovus Energy Inc CVE.TO , Canadian Natural
Resources Ltd CNQ.TO and the Canadian division of Royal Dutch
Shell Plc RDSa.L endorsed the government proposal to set a cap
that would still allow overall oil sands emissions to grow by
about 40 per cent.
"This plan recognizes the need for balance between the
environment and the economy - one that should provide greater
flexibility for the industry and the province on a go-forward
basis," said Murray Edwards, chair of Canadian Natural.
Environmental groups, including the Pembina Institute,
Forest Ethics and Environmental Defence Canada, also endorsed
the plan.
Greenpeace Canada described the plan as a "historic first
step" to slowing growth of pollution, but said more needed to be
done by all jurisdictions to prevent dangerous changes to the
climate.
($1 = 1.3328 Canadian dollars)
(Editing by Jonathan Oatis)