So, what IS Poilievre's climate change policy?

Pierre Poilievre gets a lot of mileage out of his Trump-style sound-bites and slogans, like "Axe the tax!" (hardly original, but okay). The less-discerning Conservative voters lap this stuff up, and cheer wildly at his campaign-style appearances. Sound familiar?

So, is that it? Is that his climate change policy? Axe the tax (i.e. no policy at all)? The Conservatives have lost elections over a non-existent climate change policy in the past, although the climate change political climate does seem to have changed somewhat recently (probably partly propelled by Trudeau's huge gaffe on the issue just this last week, when he exempted home fuel oil in the Atlantic provinces).

Well, for one thing, Poilievre won't come out publicly and commit to upholding Canada's international obligations under the Paris Agreement on climate change, neither to Trudeau's ambitious target of 40-45% emissions reductions from 2005 levels by 2030, nor even to Harper's much laxer 30% target. When asked, he merely says that he will reserve judgement for now and changes the subject, so you kind of know what that means.

When pressed hard, his plan, such as it is, is to leverage technology to do the work for him, citing "small modular nuclear reactors, hydroelectric dams, tidal wave power, and other emissions-free energy", as well as speeding up the approval of mines for minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries.

Well, that's something to work with, I guess. 

Small modular nuclear reactors are not even a thing yet, although prototypes are in the process of being built. They are expected to be horribly expensive, if and when they do come to fruition, and suffer anyway from all the drawbacks of larger nuclear projects.

Hydroelectric dams? The chances of getting a new large-scale hydro project through modern environmental assessments are slim, although Poilievre hints that he would probably do away with such environmental red tape anyway. Current projects like Muskrat Falls and Site C in BC aren't faring well, years behind schedule and grossly over-budget (as are most nuclear projects).

Tidal wave power? Well, yes, I'm on board with that, although existing proven projects are few and far between (France and South Korea do have working models). The technology is still in its infancy, and there are still many concerns about underwater land ownership and environmental impacts. But it could eventually make a substantial contribution to our grid. Just not anytime soon.

And "other emissions-free energy"? Sure, bring it on. But there, I guess we are talking about the status quo - wind and solar - and every new project in clCanada involves a battle against recalcitrant Conservative provincial premiers (for some reason, Conservative governments seem to be actively hostile to renewable energy). I'm not sure what Poilievre's solution is for that.

Maybe by the time the next federal election rolls around in 2025, we might hear more from Mr. Poilievre, when his minions have had time to come up with something. But right now? The plan is: "Axe the tax!"