Cutting Canada's carbon emissions: an interview with Dave Sawyer

Generation Squeeze's Hard Truths

Environmental economist Dave Sawyer and Gen Squeeze's Umair Muhammad and Megan Wilde discuss how Canada is cutting carbon emissions to fight climate change, one of the greatest intergenerational injustices of our time. Dave gives us the low down on the federal government's recent proposal to cap and cut carbon emissions from the oil and gas sector, Canada's largest and fastest-growing source of carbon emissions. He also explains the differences between cap-and-trade and carbon-pricing systems and how these strategies have worked across Canada. We then delve into Gen Squeeze's climate solutions framework and voter's guide platform analyses. And we learn what an environmental economist would do with a magic wand.

Dave Sawyer is a leading environmental economist with EnviroEconomics and contributor to Gen Squeeze's climate change work. He has held positions with Environment Canada, Canada's Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development, the International Institute for Sustainable Development, and Carleton's School of Public Policy.

Dig deeper:

• Full episode transcript
• Gen Squeeze's Climate Solutions Framework
• Dave's climate platform analyses from Gen Squeeze's voter's guides: 2021 federal election and 2022 Ontario election
• Government of Canada's proposal for capping and cutting oil and gas emissions and backgrounder on an oil and gas emissions cap
• Gen Squeeze celebrates the Supreme Court decision on pollution pricing
• Planet Money's episode on Pigouvian taxes