Alberta's 2008 Approach to Climate Change: A Step Forward?

Abstract

Climate change is upon us and it poses considerable challenges. In January 2008, Alberta released its new action plan (Alberta's 2008 Climate Change Strategy) to address the problem of climate change. The focus of the paper is an analysis of the Alberta approach and asks whether the approach is adequate to the challenge. The paper identifies several key deficiencies including ambivalent targets, undeveloped actions and a lack of integration with existing climate legislation. Finally, the paper cautions that the Alberta approach to the problem of climate change may lead to unintended consequences.