Home > News > 2007 > Opposition Parties Raise the Bar on Global Warming

For release: March 22, 2007

Opposition Parties Raise the Bar on Global Warming

(Ottawa) If the government accepts opposition parties’ proposed amendments to its Clean Air Act, Canada could finally begin to take action on climate change in line with the scale of the challenge.

Opposition parties have submitted an extensive list of amendments to the Clean Air Act (Bill C-30). Many of them reflect the concerns and suggestions presented by the Climate Action Network-Réseau action climat (CAN-RAC) during last month’s hearings on Bill C-30.

“We congratulate the NDP and Liberals for committing to Kyoto-level targets for the 50 per cent of Canada’s emissions that come from heavy industry,” said John Bennett, CAN-RAC. “Heavy industry can afford to assume its fair share by meeting the same target that Canada as a whole has taken on through the Kyoto Protocol - 6 per cent below 1990 levels.”

In addition, all three opposition parties have agreed to national greenhouse gas emission targets for Canada that meet our international obligations and reflect the science of preventing dangerous climate change: the Kyoto target for 2008-12, 25% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

“The government has a huge opportunity to demonstrate that it truly does understand the urgent need for action on global warming by working with the opposition parties to put a hard cap on industrial polluters and honour Canada’s commitment to Kyoto”, said Lorne Johnson, WWF-Canada.

The C-30 committee will begin clause-by-clause consideration of the bill today. The committee has set a deadline of referring the bill back to Parliament by the end of March. Meanwhile, the government has said that it will outline greenhouse gas regulations for heavy industry in the coming weeks, setting “intensity” targets that will allow emissions to continue to rise. These regulations would be made under the existing Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

“The Prime Minister said he would work with the other parties to fix the Clean Air Act. Now is the time to keep his promise,” said Dale Marshall, David Suzuki Foundation.

“The majority of Canadians, all opposition MPs, and the international community support Kyoto”, said Hugo Séguin, Equiterre. “This is an opportunity for the government to no longer be isolated and to take action now.”

CAN-RAC has launched a website for all Canadians to get involved in this important process, www.AdoptAnMP.ca.

- 30 -