S. ADHIKARI1 and R. ROY2*
1=Swarna Adhikari, Adjunct Faculty, Department of Management and Finance, Faculty of Agribusiness Management, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka-1207 and 2=Dr. Ranjan Roy, Associate Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Extension & Information System, Sher-e-Bangla, Agricultural University, Dhaka-1207, Bangladesh.
*Corresponding author’s Email: roy298@uregina.ca
ABSTRACT
The study was conducted at the Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka and Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, University of Regina, Canada, during December 2018 to May 2019 to assess the accountability of governance of the two largest GHGs emitters crown corporations, namely, SaskPower and SaskEnergy, in Saskatchewan for mitigation to climate change. Mitigating climate change with a ‘carbon tax’ has been an issue of public debate in Saskatchewan. Accountability of crown corporations for climate change mitigation is critically examined by the federal and provincial governments since many crown corporations produce large amounts of GHGs such as carbon dioxide. Based on the literature review, a framework for accountability assessment was developed. The results show that SaskPower and SaskEnergy had taken substantial initiatives for strengthening accountability for mitigation but there is still room for improvement, for instance, deploying smart grid technologies. To mitigate GHG emissions, SaskPower had better accountability mechanisms than SaskEnergy. However, SaskPower’s GHG emissions were of great concern, due to the preponderance of coal-fired power stations of this corporation. The study concludes accountability does not always lead GHG emissions reduction, despite it is essential for climate change mitigation. The findings recommend two policy options (i) setting up a department to increase the oversight of mitigating actions and to lead research and innovation and (ii) adopting an ‘optimal’ climate policy mix to reduce GHG emissions.
Keywords: Governance, Government, Accountability, Climate change, Mitigation and Saskatchewan.