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More Republican lawmakers demand legal action over Canadian wildfire smoke

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Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Aug 13

At this point you expect more outrageous stuff every day.

But this is a whole new level of outrageous.

Brian Tyler Cohen @briantylercohen.bsky.social · Aug 13

The Trump administration is now seeking to replace PBS with “Prager University,” a far-right propaganda organization that isn’t actually a university.

One of their “kids videos” has Christopher Columbus telling them that slavery was “no big deal” and “better than being killed.”

Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Aug 11

bsky.app/profile/aaro...

Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Aug 10

Republican lawmakers' smokescreen:

"The smoke you're choking on definitely has nothing to do with climate change.

The real culprit is criminally negligent foreign forest managers."

bit.ly/45tXeKj

The Republican lawmakers called for an investigation of Canada's wildfire management practices and for potential remedies under international law, saying Canada must face "real consequences."

More Republican lawmakers demand legal action over Canadian wildfire smoke

Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Aug 11

bsky.app/profile/aaro...

Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Aug 10

Republican lawmakers' smokescreen:

"The smoke you're choking on definitely has nothing to do with climate change.

The real culprit is criminally negligent foreign forest managers."

bit.ly/45tXeKj

The Republican lawmakers called for an investigation of Canada's wildfire management practices and for potential remedies under international law, saying Canada must face "real consequences."

More Republican lawmakers demand legal action over Canadian wildfire smoke

Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Aug 10

Republican lawmakers' smokescreen:

"The smoke you're choking on definitely has nothing to do with climate change.

The real culprit is criminally negligent foreign forest managers."

bit.ly/45tXeKj

The Republican lawmakers called for an investigation of Canada's wildfire management practices and for potential remedies under international law, saying Canada must face "real consequences."

Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 24

I used to believe that the increasing frequency of climate disasters would create a constituency for climate policy ambition.

Not if so many people believe that climate-related disasters are globalist plots.

Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 17

Hey fellow Canadians. Cost of living more important to you than addressing climate change?

Here's a 10-year graph of my home insurance costs, following on recent years of monstrously costly floods, wildfires, storms.

Just 1 of so many ways in which we're paying for *not* addressing climate change.

my rising home insurance cost in Canada, in large part due to climate-change-fueled floods, wildfires, storms in recent years

Alberta will never double its oil production

Reposted by Aaron Cosbey

Max Fawcett @maxfawcett.bsky.social · Jul 10

On her dream of doubling Alberta's oil production, as on most things, Danielle Smith is in complete alignment with Alberta's separatists.

Here's why they're both going to be proven badly wrong. #abpoli #cdnpoli
www.nationalobserver.com/2025/07/10/o...

Both Danielle Smith and the separatists she keeps enabling want to see Alberta double its oil production. Spoiler: It won't be Mark Carney or the Liberal government that ends up stopping them.

www.nationalobserver.com

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Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 10

1 - We’ll get busy improving your voters’ vacations, right after we deal with the misery of 10s of thousands of CAD wildfire evacuees.

2 - We’ll improve forest management (already doing it), and you stop pretending arson is the issue, and instead stop emitting so much goddamned greenhouse gas.

Trump allies fume Canadian smoke is ruining summer – and offer misinfo as the solution

Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 10

Six US Congressmen complain to Canada’s Ambassador that Canadian wildfires are wrecking their constituents’ summer holidays, ask us to do better at forest management and preventing arson.

How about this for a deal? (1/2)

bit.ly/3TArY6K

Smoke from Canadian wildfires that have forced about a quarter of a million Canadians to evacuate since 2023 are preventing Americans in Trump-voting districts from "spend[ing] time outdoors recreatin...

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Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 9

Your years of waiting and yearning are over! 😁

Deep-detailed guidance on best practice in border carbon adjustment -- the product of dialogues that brought together over 20 global experts from a wide range of backgrounds.

International Institute for Sustainable Development @iisd.org · Jul 9

📢 New report!

If done right, Border Carbon Adjustments #BCAs, like the EU & UK #CBAMs, can support just transitions, but getting their design right is key. ✅

After2️⃣ years of expert insight, @economies.iisd.org presents this landmark set of recommendations.

🔗: www.iisd.org/publications...

Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 5

The key is that any subsidy that encourages exports is a prohibited subsidy, and I guess you can see why they would agree to that. Free allocation, granted to all production, does not favour or encourage exports.

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Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 5

The first man through a minefield makes it more feasible for those that follow, even if he blows up in the attempt

Less glib: EU will argue that their solution is legal. Followers can parrot the argument. By the time WTO rules one way or the other, the policy will have solved short term problem.

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Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 5

Because it's almost certainly WTO-illegal, and that's a bridge the EU has up until now refused to cross.

Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 5

oops - sorry - details by *2025*

Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 5

BCA levels playing field between domestic goods paying a carbon price and imported goods. But only in domestic markets. A producer exporting a significant % of production will be hooped, sending commodities burdened by a C-price into global markets. CAD producers export a high % of their production.

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Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 4

This opens the door for other countries considering BCA (e.g., UK, Norway, Australia, Canada) to follow suit.

I’ve argued the main reason Canada can’t do a BCA is hesitation to implement a potentially WTO-illegal export adjustment (Canada’s export percentages being much higher than the EU’s).

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Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 4

Details by end of 2050. Per the proposal, will be:

• Quickly adopted
• Proportional to phase out of free allocation
• Contingent on progress on decarbonization (?)
• WTO legal

On that last point, let’s see: many argue it’s not possible. (3/4)

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Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 4

This was inevitable. Those industries are under pressure from high feedstock/fuel prices, global over-supply. Losing their export markets (which they would if no export adjustment) would be a death knell for many, would be a major source of carbon leakage. (2/4)

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Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jul 4

Breaking: European Commission has proposed that CBAM-covered producers of steel, aluminum, cement & fertilizers will be relieved of the EU ETS carbon price for exports. Some thoughts. (1/4)

bit.ly/4knZmZl

Insiders say Mark Carney could compromise on emissions cap

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Reposted by Aaron Cosbey

Prof. Ian Walker @ianwalker.bsky.social · Jun 10

The economics version of "It doesn't count if it's not on Strava"

Jenny Chase @solarchase.bsky.social · Jun 9

One interesting angle on the rise of solar (and batteries) is that fossil fuel burn contributes directly and trackably to GDP measures of economic activity, while power generation used directly does not.

Presumably the purchase of equipment counts in GDP, but after that it's an avoided cost.

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Reposted by Aaron Cosbey

Adam Radwanski @aradwanski.bsky.social · Jun 6

This isn't surprising, in that the emissions cap has for a while seemed an obvious sacrificial lamb. But if Ottawa sees it as potentially a straight-up trade-off for Pathways (oil-sands carbon capture) finally happening, I think it's missing a step. www.thestar.com/politics/fed...

Once hailed under prime minister Justin Trudeau's leadership as a marquee plank of Canada's climate action under the Liberal government, the proposed emissions cap is also politically contentious, wit...

www.thestar.com

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Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · Jun 5

Thoughtful coverage of our new report calling for a new Canadian industrial strategy.

We lay out specific recommendations, based on the lessons of successful Canadian and international industrial policies.

carboncompetitiveness.ca/wp-content/u...

‘More convenient’: why China’s travellers are ditching planes for bullet trains

Reposted by Aaron Cosbey

Stephen Jacob Smith @stephenjacobsmith.com · May 25

Chinese HSR does Beijing-Shanghai – which is about the distance as NYC-Atlanta – in just over four hours, and gets six times the ridership of airlines. $1.8 billion in net profit last year. scmp.com/economy/chin...

More passengers on busy Beijing-Shanghai route are choosing high-speed rail, which offers flexibility, comfort and stable internet access.

scmp.com

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Aaron Cosbey @aaroncosbey.bsky.social · May 20

In that same request for consultations: an argument against free allocation to sectors at high risk of leakage under the EU ETS, alleging that it's an export subsidy.