We have received responses from 1 Liberal Party candidate - Shirley Ksienski (Calgary Glenmore):
1) Do you acknowledge the global scientific consensus on the facts of Climate Change?
Yes. Sure.
2) Do you agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommendations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 to ensure we keep global warming to 1.5OC above pre-industrial levels? https://www.ipcc.ch/2018/10/08/summary-for-policymakers-of-ipcc-special-report-on-global-warming-of-1-5c-approved-by-governments/ What is your plan to achieve this?
Yes. The plan it to review each factor contributing to climate change vs. economic impact and investment and prioritize it this way. For example, largest emitter is China and within China it is coal power plants. It could the cheapest way to reduce emissions per unit (cost per million tons MT of CO2). It must be political and economic action to achieve it, but they are underway. There are some activities underway for oil sands, which suppose to reduce emissions. By the key is dollar per MT.
3) According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, climate change will cause increased damage from floods, wildfires, heat and droughts. What specific actions would you take to mitigate and adapt to these risks in order to protect the province we love?
Number one priority is flood and mitigation and forest fire protection. The last is very critical because Calgary will be unliveable city every summer because of forest fires. It is a major health hazard. It must be done together with BC. It must be a government program to reduce forest fires.
4) Are you supportive of a provincial carbon levy as a tool to reduce emissions, and fund public infrastructure and energy innovation? If not, what other policy/policies would you propose in its place to achieve similar goals?
In general carbon levy is a good tool. Without putting price on carbon it is hard to fight climate change. However what levies and how to apply them it is a subject for detailed analysis. The solution of adaptive application of levies: apply them for certain period of time and see if they help or not. Otherwise it will be just wealth redistribution.
5) As the world economy transitions toward cleaner energy sources, what would you/your government do to protect and assist workers in current fossil fuel industries as we diversify our economy?
Development of new economony in Alberta in critical and first priority for government. Regardless of current pipeline situation world is moving away from fossill fuels. Here is an actual plan: a). Expend SR&ED program: less limitation, greater payout. It work extremely well, but it is limited. b). Consolidate grant program, create one large research grant program for all industries. The example is SBIR in US. Remove bureaucracy, not like in IRAP. Alberta Grant program should be as simple as SR&ED. Allocate billons to it. c). Invest to advertisement to Alberta Innovation advantage. Most US investors not aware that they can for example develop software in Alberta up to 2 times cheaper. d). Increase direct investment to universities in Alberta. e). Direct investment to certain industries. For example, before 2000 Singapore was nothing for biologic research. But they built biopolis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biopolis. It is one of world centers for pharma industries now.
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