Premier Rachel Notley unveiled Alberta’s long-awaited climate change policy at the TELUS World of Science in Edmonton Sunday afternoon.

Notley has accepted a report that includes a tax on carbon that will be applied across the economy.

Charging for carbon emissions would begin in 2017 at $20 a tonne economy-wide and then increase to $30 a tonne by January 2018. An overall oil sands emission limit of 100 megatonnes per year would be set.  

“The Government of Alberta is going to stop being the problem and we are going to start being the solution,” said Notley at Sunday's announcement.

The climate change policy also includes a plan to phase out coal-fired power generation by 2030 and reduce methane emissions by 45 per cent by 2025.

"This is the day we step up, at long last, to one of the world's biggest problems -- the pollution that is causing climate change," Notley said.

"I'm hopeful these policies will lead to a new collaborative conversation about Canada's energy infrastructure on its merits and to a significant de-escalation of conflict worldwide about the Alberta oilsands."

The report says the average household in Alberta would see an increase of $40 per month in 2018, but proposes that the government offer a rebate through various programs to approximately 60 per cent of Albertans with the lowest incomes.

Revenue generated from the climate change policy would be invested into clean energy research and green infrastructure. It would also provide transition support to small businesses, First Nations and people working in affected coal facilities.

Murray Edwards of Canadian Natural Resources Limited said the targets the NDP government are setting are "ambitious." But he said they would allow innovation and growth in the oil industry to continue while also addressing climate change.

"This plan recognizes the need for a balance between the environment and the economy. One that should provide greater predictablity for both the industry and the province on a go-forward basis," Edwards said.

Ed Whittingham of the Pembina Institute said, "I think the world needs more of this kind of leadership.”

The announcement comes 24 hours before Notley is scheduled to discuss the plan with the federal government in Ottawa and days before she heads to Paris for an international meeting on the issue.

The policy is the result of months of consultation and study by an expert panel convened to help the government write the policy. Andrew Leach, a University of Alberta energy economist, led the panel, which received thousands of pages of submissions from citizens, industry and environmental groups.

With files from The Canadian Press