The November meeting of the Provincial Issues Committee featured a presentation from Kati McCartney, Manager of Energy and Sustainability, Laurentian University on how the cap and trade system will impact the University.
Kati explained that cap and trade will impact businesses/institutions in the following ways: 1) if you are emitting above the threshold (25,000 CO2e tonnes a year), you will have to buy carbon credits and participate in the cap and trade system; 2) if you emit 10-25,000 tonnes per year, you will have the option to opt-in and play in the market; 3) if you emit 10-25,000 tonnes per year, you will also have the option to opt-out of the cap and trade system.
Kati explained that the University will feel the effects of cap and trade by costs passed down through its fuel distributors. She added that consumers and institutions/businesses will also be impacted by cap and trade through their utilities bills. She also outlined certain steps the University has taken to reduce their environmental footprint.