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Policymakers in the Northwest Territories have introduced carbon pricing as a strategy to reduce fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions across various population segments and industries. This indirect approach, chosen for its acceptability, aims to influence behavior rather than directly limit carbon-intensive products. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the economic and ecological impacts of this policy and its alignment with intended objectives. Using a CGE macroeconomic model incorporating economic structural and behavioral equations, we assessed the policy's effects on NWT's economy in general and on a subset of its key sectors. We also incorporated a few observed and simulated climate data for diverse climate change scenarios. The estimated results revealed that climate variables, especially precipitation, significantly influenced sectors like agriculture, construction, and manufacturing. The standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), which encompasses both temperature and precipitation, notably impacted the agriculture, oil, and gas sectors. However, temperature alone showed limited significance, except in the oil and gas sector. The simulation results indicated that, while carbon pricing reduced economic contributions of fossil fuel sector, household rebates could counteract these effects of the economic growth of NWT. Our findings offer valuable insights for shaping NWT's environmental policies, aligning them with Canada's goal of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study region: This study analyzed lake surface temperature (LST) trends and spatial distribution across 535 predominantly small to medium lakes across the North Slave Region (NSR) of the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. Study focus: The NWT is characterized by a vast number of lakes covering a significant portion of its spatial extent. However, there is limited knowledge of how LST responds to climate warming in this region. To address this, LST was analyzed in four distinct periods: open water season (OW), ice cover season (IC), and the transitional months of May (TM) and October (TO). LSTs from 1984 to 2021 were retrieved from a lake-specific satellite-derived LST dataset (North Slave LST). LST trend distribution and relationships were analyzed using the Mann-Kendall test and a multilinear regression model. New hydrological insights: The analysis revealed an overall increase in LST, with average rates (max) of 0.03 °C/year (0.05 °C/year), 0.03 °C/year (0.06 °C/year), and 0.13 °C/year (0.27 °C/year) for OW, TM, and TO, respectively accross study lakes. A faster rate of change was observed in October compared to other periods. Results indicated significant increases in LST for 411 lakes (77%) during OW, 418 lakes (78%) during TO, and 490 lakes (92%) during TM. The spatial distribution and magnitude of LST change were primarily influenced by geographical than morphometric properties. The analysis demonstrated later freeze-up (0.20 day/year) and earlier break-up (−0.17 day/year) of lake ice across the NSR.

Policymakers in the Northwest Territories have introduced carbon pricing as a strategy to reduce fossil fuel consumption and CO2 emissions across various population segments and industries. This indirect approach, chosen for its acceptability, aims to influence behavior rather than directly limit carbon-intensive products. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the economic and ecological impacts of this policy and its alignment with intended objectives. Using a CGE macroeconomic model incorporating economic structural and behavioral equations, we assessed the policy’s effects on NWT’s economy in general and on a subset of its key sectors. We also incorporated a few observed and simulated climate data for diverse climate change scenarios. The estimated results revealed that climate variables, especially precipitation, significantly influenced sectors like agriculture, construction, and manufacturing. The standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), which encompasses both temperature and precipitation, notably impacted the agriculture, oil, and gas sectors. However, temperature alone showed limited significance, except in the oil and gas sector. The simulation results indicated that, while carbon pricing reduced economic contributions of fossil fuel sector, household rebates could counteract these effects of the economic growth of NWT. Our findings offer valuable insights for shaping NWT’s environmental policies, aligning them with Canada’s goal of net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050.