Premier Christy Clark had her dancing shoes on as yet another B次元官网网址渃limate changeB次元官网网址� meeting ended in disarray in Vancouver last week.

B次元官网网址淭his is not the end,B次元官网网址� Clark assured reporters after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the premiers emerged with no agreement on a national minimum carbon price. No kidding.

Trudeau declared victory by announcing the unanimous consent to a B次元官网网址淰ancouver Declaration,B次元官网网址� which basically pays lip service to the concept of B次元官网网址渃arbon pricingB次元官网网址� and kicks another grand federal election promise down the road.

[Vancouver Declaration . Its first promise is to "increase the level of ambition." No kidding.]

As the rest headed for jets waiting at Vancouver airport, Clark expressed the hope that the public would say B次元官网网址渢hey got together and they made progress.B次元官网网址� Did they? LetB次元官网网址檚 take a look.

Going into the Whistler-Vancouver stop on TrudeauB次元官网网址檚 globe-trotting glamour tour, Clark correctly noted that itB次元官网网址檚 other provinces that need to make progress. B.C. has a clear price on carbon emissions; itB次元官网网址檚 been held at $30 a tonne since Clark succeeded its creator, Gordon Campbell.

ClarkB次元官网网址檚 advice for other premiers is to follow CampbellB次元官网网址檚 example of a revenue-neutral carbon tax, offset by income tax reductions. You wonB次元官网网址檛 build public support for a carbon tax that makes people poorer, she said.

Of course thatB次元官网网址檚 what Alberta is doing, at a time when many residents are getting poorer already. AlbertaB次元官网网址檚 NDP government plans to match the rate of B.C.B次元官网网址檚 carbon tax within two years and spend the proceeds.

Other premiers have more creative definitions for pricing carbon.

Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil pointed to transmission lines and power purchases from the Muskrat Falls dam under construction in Labrador, to substitute hydro for coal-fired power. The highest electricity prices in Canada are their B次元官网网址渃arbon pricingB次元官网网址� plan.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall pointed to SaskPowerB次元官网网址檚 Boundary Dam carbon capture and storage project. It is the worldB次元官网网址檚 first coal-fired power station to capture carbon dioxide after combustion. The CO2 is sold to oilfield operators who inject it into declining wells to push more oil out, and the project intends to capture sulphur dioxide and fly ash to process and sell for other industrial uses.

Wall is the only Canadian leader to state a couple of inconvenient truths. The purpose of this exercise is to reduce carbon emissions, not to raise tax revenues. And now is the worst possible time to impose more taxes on the oil and gas industry.

ClarkB次元官网网址檚 stand-pat strategy on the B.C. carbon tax is going to change this year, as positioning begins for the 2017 election. A B.C. government advisory panel has recommended a 33 per cent increase, conveniently starting in 2018, with annual increases after that.

The current seven-cent-per-litre carbon tax on gasoline sold in B.C. is hardly a deterrent these days, as pump prices have tumbled and could stay low for years to come. And with a fragile economy, it seems unlikely that a big boost in carbon taxes will find favour with voters a year from now.

The B.C. NDP is trying to rebuild its credibility on climate policy. NDP leader John Horgan tried to revise the partyB次元官网网址檚 history, claiming in year-end interviews that the NDP didnB次元官网网址檛 oppose the carbon tax, only making it revenue neutral rather than spending the money on green initiatives, as Alberta wants to do.

Alas, the NDPB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渁xe the taxB次元官网网址� campaign going into the 2009 election is a matter of record. The partyB次元官网网址檚 election platform warned that CampbellB次元官网网址檚 plan B次元官网网址渋ncreases taxes for average families by tripling the gas taxB次元官网网址� to its current level.

Last week the NDP issued a news release denouncing Clark for presiding over increasing greenhouse gas emissions.

Tom Fletcher is B.C. legislature reporter and columnist for Black Press. Email: tfletcher@blackpress.ca Twitter: @tomfletcherbc