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For release: November 24, 2006

Environment Canada proceeding with flawed plan

(Ottawa) Canadians are getting bad greenhouse gas regulations whether they like it or not. While the Clean Air Act waits to be sent to a legislative committee for an overhaul, the federal government is forging ahead with its plan to set regulations under the Notice of Intent that will do nothing to protect the climate or clean the air.

“Most Canadians believed their voices were heard when the Act was sent to legislative committee to be strengthened,” said John Bennett, Executive Director of the Climate Action Network-Réseau action climat Canada. “They are in for a big surprise when they hear Minister Ambrose announce in January that Canada is proposing a set of regulations that will not come close to meeting our Kyoto commitment.”

Despite the political manoeuvres of opposition parties to defeat or amend the Clean Air Act, Environment Canada is proceeding with a very rapid roll out of new regulations that will postpone action on regulating greenhouse gas emissions until at least the end of 2010. Officials are meeting with environmental organizations this morning having already met with industry and most of the provinces to discuss the government proposal to abandon its Kyoto obligations. The government is proposing to allow industrial emissions to remain above current levels until at least 2020 and possibly as late as 2025.

“Canada has a legal obligation under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to levels 6% below 1990 levels. Industrial targets must be based on meeting Canada’s obligations under the Protocol and must be in proportion to industrial contributions to Canada’s emissions. This requires a hard cap on industrial emissions beginning in 2008, not 2011,” said Mr. Bennett.

The purpose of today’s meeting with environmental organizations is to gather reaction to a discussion paper circulated by Environment Canada on government proposals for greenhouse gases and air pollution. The paper lists twelve questions on which the department wants feedback before presenting a draft “regulatory framework” in the new year.

Environmental organizations once again urged government to replace proposed “intensity” targets for large industrial emitters with “hard caps.” Intensity is a measure of emissions produced per units of production, so as long as industry produces more, emissions will be allowed to continue to rise. “This approach assumes Earth’s climate understands production levels. Of course this is nonsense. Earth’s climate understands pollution levels. Period,” said Mr. Bennett.

“The point of regulating any pollutant is to eliminate an environmental or health threat. These questions make it obvious that this more of a exercise to ease the burden on polluters, not to protect the environment. This a major departure from science-based regulation which has been the basis for environmental regulation,” said Mr. Bennett.

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