By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, June 11 -- Quebec has authorized Canada's first carbon emissions tax, effective Oct. 1. An estimated $200 million (Can.) of annual tax revenues will be used to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and improve public transit, officials said.
The Quebec cabinet approved the tax, which was proposed more than a year ago. Quebec's Natural Resources Minister Claude Bechard suggested oil companies would absorb the tax rather than pass it on to consumers, but analysts expect retail prices to rise.
The amount of the tax varies according to the amount of carbon dioxide each fuel produces. The tax is to 0.8¢ (Can.)/l. for gasoline, 0.9¢ /l. for diesel, 0.96¢ /l. for light heating oil, and $8/tonne for coal.
Three companies, Petro-Canada Products Ltd., Shell Canada Ltd., and Valero Energy Corp., operate refineries in Quebec.