| Check Against Delivery Good
evening.
I would like to thank the presenters of this conference, the
Canadian Energy Research Institute, the Conference Board of Canada, the Pembina Institute,
and Pollution Probe, for putting together such an extremely useful event.
I use the term "useful" advisedly. And believe me, this is
not a case of damning with faint praise. Because the practical and pragmatic approach that
you are taking to the task before us will help us all to get going on reducing greenhouse
gas emissions as quickly and efficiently as possible.
That is exactly what the Government of Canada has been doing as
well.
Last December, I was in Kyoto as the head of the Canadian
delegation. With me was Ralph Goodale and together we were honoured to be part of the
global effort to seriously address the problem of greenhouse gas emissions.
With the full agreement of Cabinet and the government, we agreed to
a protocol that committed Canada to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to six per cent
below 1990 levels by the period 2008-2010.
Since Kyoto, we, as a government, have stopped questioning whether
we should be making this kind of commitment. We and the international community have been
directing our energies to how we will meet our commitment – because meet it, we
shall.
At the April 5th meeting of the G-8 Environment
Ministers, we committed to translate the promise of Kyoto into reality. We further stated
our intention to sign the Protocol within the next year and to make an urgent start on the
further work that is necessary.
In Canada, we have been mobilizing our efforts to develop
Canada’s implementation strategy for the end of 1999. We have established a Climate
Change Secretariat to coordinate federal efforts in this area.
As well, the government has provided a further $50 million a year
for three years to build momentum toward concrete action and results on the climate change
front. This $150 million will allow us to undertake initiatives in five areas:
- developing the national action strategy;
- conducting public education and engagement;
- analyzing best approaches and conducting research into key
flexibility mechanisms such as emissions trading;
- undertaking quick-start pilot projects; and
- engaging developing countries.
But we also know that the best way to meet our Kyoto commitments and
to achieve our goal of a "minus six society" is not to try to do it alone. We
have to work with the provinces and territories, as well as with local governments,
community organizations, and the private sector.
As directed by the First Ministers at their meeting last December,
Ralph Goodale and I are working with our counterparts from the provinces and territories
to coordinate the development of an implementation strategy. We will, in fact, be meeting
here in Toronto next Thursday and Friday to begin laying out our activities for the next
two years.
At that meeting, the federal government is looking for a
federal-provincial-territorial agreement on a process to develop the National Action Plan
that meets the direction given to us by First Ministers.
The federal government hopes the agreement will include:
- implementing immediate actions that will give Canada early reductions
in emissions; and
- put in place a policy that promotes early action and innovation by
industry to start now to reduce emissions rather than wait until next year.
And we are asking for your advice and analysis.
We want to involve people like you, people who believe that climate
change is not an economic drain, but rather, an economic and environmental opportunity.
All sectors of society will be called upon to share their views and best practice so we
can learn from each other about what works and what doesn’t.
Some of the areas we could explore for early action might include
voluntary initiatives; supporting the technology development that will lead to innovation
in energy production and consumption; and broader and more intensive public outreach and
consumer education.
As part of these activities, we will be establishing Issue Tables to
bring together all stakeholders to examine the various aspects of implementing our Kyoto
commitment. I am asking you to get involved in the work of these Issue Tables over the
coming months, and I would like to take the opportunity now to thank you for what I am
sure will be a valuable use of your time and ours.
I would like to take a moment to address one part of the Kyoto
Protocol, and that is its flexibility mechanisms. It is these measures – measures
that Canada fought hard to have included in the Protocol – that will help to make
reducing emissions into an economic opportunity.
Having fought for these measures, it is incumbent upon us to make
sure that they work, not only for our own benefit, but for the benefit of all the
countries of the world.
One of these measures is the Clean Development Mechanism. It will
help developing countries participate in global emissions reductions. It is, to my mind,
the ideal example of a "win-win" situation.
Not only because it is good for us to be able to export our
technologies and expertise. But because developing countries are fast becoming the largest
emitters of greenhouse gases. Any global effort that does not engage their commitment is
bound to fail. Providing cost-effective ways of reducing emissions can, in fact, help
change development priorities to incorporate good environmental protection.
In mid-January, I was in China, and last month I was in Budapest for
an informal meeting of environment ministers from both developed and developing countries.
From both of these events, I believe that, with hard work and cooperation, we can convince
China and other developing countries of the importance of taking action to limit
emissions. We are working hard to achieve this goal in Buenos Aires in November.
Last month, Canada and the United States co-sponsored an
international emissions trading forum in Vancouver. More than 120 people participated, and
some of you may be here tonight.
There was broad and enthusiastic representation from the business
and financial communities interested in the establishment of a new commodity market in
greenhouse gas trading.
Let’s be clear. The majority of Canada’s reductions will
be achieved at home at through cost-effective measures that we can all take.
Emissions trading isn’t about avoiding reductions; in fact,
it’s about enabling us to go faster and to unleash the creativity of the private
sector in finding the best solutions to the climate change challenge. And this is
important, both for the environment and for the economy.
If trading means achieving reductions while protecting jobs –
then I’m in favour of it.
And if international emissions trading helps achieve reductions
while growing our economy – then I’m in favor of it.
The private sector in both of our countries is not waiting to see
proof of the value of emissions trading. They are going ahead and reaching agreement such
as the one signed recently between Canada’s Suncor Energy and Niagara Mohawk Power
Company in Syracuse, New York. Suncor has agreed to buy 100,000 metric tonnes of
greenhouse gas emission reductions from Niagara Mohawk, with an option to buy an
additional 10 million tonnes over a 10-year period.
The agreement will help Suncor achieve its voluntary emission
reduction targets, while Niagara Mohawk has agreed to use at least 70 per cent of net
proceeds from the sale for new projects that will further reduce emissions.
Because Canada is a trading nation with fully 40 per cent of our GDP
coming from international trade, establishing a working emissions trading system
internationally is essential to our economic well-being.
We are counting on your ideas and your commitment to help make
international emissions trading an important part of the global effort to reduce
emissions.
I would like to make one final point.
Meeting Canada’s Kyoto commitments, reducing our greenhouse gas
emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels, is a venture that involves all sectors of
Canadian society. It requires the collaborative effort of many. We know that, in these
kinds of situations, government can play an enabling role.
We also know, though, that there are areas in which we do not
contribute to solutions, but rather create barriers. We need to know what these are.
Minister Goodale and I want to hear from you, about what you need from us, what we can do
to help you develop and market new energy-efficiency technologies, here in Canada and
around the world.
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is possibly the greatest environmental challenge this
country has faced. But I am afraid I am an incurable optimist. And one of the things I am
most optimistic about is that this formidable challenge is going to give rise to a unique
partnership, a new way of governments, citizens, and the private sector working together
in a cooperative and reciprocal fashion to achieve our shared goals.
And I look forward to it.
Thank you. |
