- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Israel pounds Lebanon ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Toddler among 4 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
Canada's Trudeau on back foot over carbon tax
Polluters should pay up, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau insists. But pressure is mounting to scrap his signature climate policy, a federal levy on CO2 emissions, as ordinary Canadians see the law increase their own cost of living.
The levy, applied to a myriad of fossil fuels used by both industry and consumers, is scheduled to rise from Can$64 to Can$80 (US$48 to US$59) per metric ton of carbon on April 1, in a bid to see Canadians slash their total carbon emissions by 40-45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
But it's adding to household costs at the same time that people are feeling the bite from inflation.
Seven provinces have asked the government to pause or cancel the increase, which would add about three cents per liter (quarter gallon) to the price of gasoline.
Newfoundland Premier Andrew Furey -- a liberal from Trudeau's own party -- was the latest this month to join his conservative peers in seeking a reprieve "at least until inflation stabilizes."
Saskatchewan, meanwhile, is refusing to collect and remit the tax to Ottawa.
In some ways Trudeau has already caved to pressure, issuing in October a three-year exemption of the tax on home heating oil. The Atlantic region, where 24 Liberal House of Commons seats are at stake, benefits the most from the change.
In parliament recently, a mushroom farmer's hefty gas bill became the focal point of sparring match between Trudeau and his main rival, conservative leader Pierre Poilievre -- who vowed to "axe the tax" if he defeats the Liberals in elections next year.
Mike Medeiros paid Can$16,668.39 for the federal carbon tax on his February natural gas bill that hit a total of Can$62,441.95.
His Osgoode, Ontario, farm employs 160 workers producing 200,000 pounds of mushrooms per week, and uses 1.3 million cubic meters of natural gas per year to sterilize and control the heat and humidity in 50 growing rooms.
By contrast, the average Canadian home uses 2,400 cubic meters of gas.
By the time the carbon tax increases to $170, set for 2030, "our carbon tax costs for heating alone will be half a million dollars," Medeiros told AFP. "I can't absorb that cost."
- Climate disasters -
Ottawa has rolled out more than 10 climate plans since 1990 but all have failed to achieve their goals, making Canada an outlier among G7 nations, with its greenhouse gas emissions rising 13.9 percent to 670 megatonnes from 1990 to 2021.
The environment commissioner in November said its latest efforts could also fall short of the 2030 target, despite government assurances.
According to the Angus Reid Institute, a public opinion research group, Canada's soaring cost of living is the top concern for 56 percent of Canadians, outweighing climate change, which polls as the top concern for 31 percent of respondents.
And 40 percent of those polled want the carbon tax abolished versus only 27 percent who say it should increase as planned.
Ottawa waitress Rima Sab, 54, said she doesn't like paying the federal levy, but supports it.
"The carbon tax sucks. But climate change sucks more," she said. "If we don't do something now, what will be left for my kids?"
During a visit to oil-rich Alberta, Trudeau called out "short-term thinker politicians" opposed to the levy that is projected to account for one third of Canada's emissions reductions, telling reporters "doing the right things today... will deliver a better future."
In a letter to wayward provinces, he said carbon pricing is "the most efficient way to reduce emissions across the economy" while adding only 0.1 percent to inflation.
Most Canadians get a carbon rebate or "more money back than they pay," he added, while "the devastating effects of floods, wildfires and droughts are escalating costs annually" for all.
On the heels of Canada's worst ever fire season that saw more than 18 million hectares (45 million acres) scorched and 200,000 people displaced last summer, 2024 disaster preparations have already started -- months earlier than usual.
The Liberals last week survived a no-confidence vote over the carbon tax.
Still, Lori Turnbull, a Dalhousie University politics professor, doesn't think the next election can be won by championing climate action.
"People are feeling the pinch at the grocery store, at the pump, on their rent or mortgage, and so a carbon tax hike risks making the government look tone-deaf on the affordability crisis," she warned.
D.Cunningha--AMWN