The provincial government will spend $2 billion on public transit and $2 billion on carbon capture as part of its plan to combat global warming, it was announced last week.

Carbon capture projects entail taking carbon dioxide emissions from refineries and other industrial operations and burying them underground. Companies will have until the end of August to apply for funding for such initiatives.

“(We’re) going for the projects with the biggest bang for the buck,” says Karen Karbashewski, spokeswoman for the province’s Energy Department. The province will review the proposals and decide which projects to fund by March 2009.

New public transit projects — including commuter trains — will also be considered for extra funding to cut carbon emissions.

In total, the government expects to cut carbon emissions by five million tons, equivalent to taking one third of the province’s cars off the road. The overall goal is to cut emissions in half by 2050.

Electricity giant TransAlta, which is planning to build such a project at one of its Edmonton-area generating stations, plans to apply for some of the money. “Carbon capture and storage is essential if Canada and the world are to address the carbon challenge,” says company spokesman Michael Lawrence.

While environmentalists applauded the move, some questioned the idea of subsidizing carbon capture for big business. “Using Albertans' money to kick start things is an important contribution, but it should be in the form of a public investment that delivers a reasonable return to Albertans, not a handout to companies,” says Dan Woynillowicz of the Pembina Institute, a Calgary-based environmental think-tank. “Ultimately the polluters need to pay.” (AM)