Federal government funds innovative climate change project

.Vancouver -- December 11, 1998 -- Christine Stewart, Minister of Environment, today presented the Sustainable Development Research Institute of the University of British Columbia with the first installment of funding for the Canadian CO₂ Calculator. This project is being supported under the federal government's Climate Change Action Fund (CCAF). The $30,500 cheque is part of a total of $222,875 announced for the project October 19, 1998.

The Canadian CO₂ Calculator is an interactive software package that helps Canadians determine how much carbon dioxide they produce in their everyday activities. The software shows people the effect their activities have on the environment and how they can change their habits to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"Each individual has the power to make a difference," said Minister Stewart at a demonstration of the CO₂ calculator at Science World in Vancouver. "People are willing to do their part to help the environment, but they don't always know the best action to take. The calculator is a great development because it shows us the simple ways we can combat climate change."

CCAF funding will be used to make the Calculator available on the World Wide Web next year. The Sustainable Development Research Institute also plans to develop educational support materials to make the calculator a useful tool in the classroom.

The software is being developed in partnership with Environment Canada, B.C. Environment, Lands and Parks, the David Suzuki Foundation, Envision Tools, Natural Resources Canada, Petro-Canada, and Torrie-Smith Associates.

"We are very pleased to be working with Environment Canada and our many other partners on this project," said John Robinson, head of the Sustainable Development Research Institute. "This is an exciting stage in our work on the calculator as we are about to begin testing it with schools and community groups."

The Government of Canada created the Climate Change Action Fund to help Canada meet its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. The 1998 federal budget allocated $150 million to the Fund over three years.

The CO₂ calculator is funded through the Public Outreach component of the CCAF. This component supports projects that increase public awareness and understanding of climate change and that provide Canadians with the information they need to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Minister Stewart announced eight new CCAF projects earlier in the day in Calgary, including the Community Energy Planning Workshops by the B.C. Energy Aware Committee. This project involves eight local government workshops -- six of them to be held in municipalities in the Greater Vancouver Regional District -- to help communities evaluate their development options in terms of the community energy planning measures. Through the workshops, communities learn to assess the economic, social and environmental benefits of their policies and plans, and come up with ways to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. This project is sponsored by the Energy Aware Committee, and several local governments. Total CCAF funding is $10,000.

For more information on the CCAF, please refer to the Government of Canada climate change Web site: http://www.climatechange.gc.ca.

Related documents:

• The Canadian CO₂ calculator [backgrounder]