There’s no rest for the advocates of the environment. While most of us were enjoying the weather last Sunday, the Green Party of Canada preempted Monday’s opening of the winter parliamentary session and announced its “bottom line” expectation for the federal government’s progress on the climate crisis.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Environment Minister John Baird to call off their current environmental image-building offensive and instead commit the government to a genuine effort to meet its Kyoto targets.
“The government should use the coming federal budget to introduce reforms that will drive the transition to a low-carbon economy,” said May. “Our bottom line is that the only targets that are acceptable for greenhouse gas reductions by 2012 are those to which Canada is already committed under Kyoto,” she said.
Although the Green Party does not yet have a seat in the House, May intends to attend committee hearings. The Party’s focus is on the hearings of the new House committee reviewing the Clean Air Act, Bill C-30. The bill seeks to cut emissions from 2003 levels by 45 to 65 per cent by 2050.
“Bill C-30 must not weaken the ability of the federal government to regulate pollution,” said May.
The Green Party announcement comes at the end of a month-long series of Conservative environmental announcements. In mid-January they introduced a new version of the Liberal-cancelled ‘Energuide’ program – a project that involved giving homeowners rebates to improve the energy consumption and efficiency of their homes.
The Conservatives also unveiled two other environment plans: one to invest in projects that generate electricity by wind, solar and other forms of renewable energy, while the other would help clean up the production of conventional energy. Critics say the plans are similar to incentives launched under the former Liberal government that were postponed after the Conservatives took office last year.
Later, Environment Minister John Baird said the Harper government would spend $30 million to help preserve the Spirit Bear Rainforest in British Columbia “for generations to come.”
It’s not that the Green Party is against Conservative environmental policy. They feel this government is just jumping from iceberg to iceberg, policy-to-policy, repackaging and scrapping old policies in hopes of not landing in water, and sinking. They say Canada can meet its Kyoto targets using a range of measures including a carbon tax, cutting massive subsidies to fossil fuels, an emissions cap and other alternatives – that is, if the Conservatives stick to it and respect their commitments.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said on Friday that his government aims to propose new greenhouse gas emissions target for key industries, including oil and gas, by spring, but will only implement these changes by the earliest 2010.
But the new rules don’t mean Canada will meet targets agreed upon under the 1997 Kyoto protocol.
