Government of Canada
98/76
October 19, 1998
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TAKES CONCRETE ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
HALIFAX — October 19, 1998 — The federal government
is taking action now to engage Canadians in activities that will be critical
to ensuring that we meet our climate change commitments. Ralph Goodale,
Minister of Natural Resources, and Christine Stewart, Minister of Environment,
today provided further details of the Climate Change Action Fund (CCAF)
and announced the first set of projects it will fund. The 1998 federal
budget provided $150 million over three years for the CCAF.
"The CCAF is an important building block in our efforts to mitigate
the effects of climate change," said Minister Goodale. "Our
message to Canadians is this: Acting now is like investing in an insurance
policy to protect the environment and the economy, for ourselves and
for future generations."
Through the projects announced today, the CCAF will provide more than
$1.6 million to support a series of early actions that will facilitate
new and ongoing science and public outreach activities on climate change.
Other projects will be announced soon.
"The challenge is great," said Minister Stewart. "We
need to build public awareness and understanding of climate change and
engage all Canadians in local actions. The public outreach and science
projects we are announcing today will further our understanding of the
effects of climate change and engage our partners, schools and communities
in taking meaningful actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."
The CCAF will enable concrete early action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
lay the foundation for meeting Canada's commitments under the Kyoto Protocol,
and engage Canadians in becoming part of the solution. The Fund is expected
to spark significant private sector and other government funding, which
will allow it to make the most of opportunities to lessen the impacts
of climate change.
For example, the $1.6 million committed by the federal government to
the science and public outreach projects announced today will grow to
almost $5 million through partnerships with governments, communities,
the private sector and other organizations.
The CCAF has four components:
- Technology Early Action Measures (TEAM) ($56 million) to support
cost-effective technology projects that will lead to significant reductions
in greenhouse gas emissions
- Science, Impacts and Adaptation ($15 million) to improve our knowledge
of the climate system and to assess the impact of climate change on
the regions of Canada and the options for adaptation
- Foundation Analysis ($34 million) to support the sound analysis of
options for implementing the Kyoto Protocol
- Public Outreach ($30 million) to inform and engage Canadians on climate
change and to form partnerships with other governments, communities,
the private sector and other organizations in early action measures.
A reserve of $15 million has been put aside to re-balance the distribution
of funds among the four components. This will ensure that proposals having
the greatest impact will be addressed.
The $150 million for the CCAF was allocated over three years. This is
in addition to the funds earmarked for climate change activities in previous
budgets and ongoing government programs dedicated to the issue. In total,
the federal financial commitment to find and implement climate change
solutions now adds up to more than $200 million per year.
Canadians can obtain more information on the CCAF at the Government of
Canada climate change Web site: http://www.climatechange.gc.ca.
For more information, contact:
John Embury
Press Secretary
Natural Resources Canada
(613) 996-2007
or
Michael Barluk
Office of the Minister of the Environment
Environment Canada
(819) 997-1441
The following three media backgrounders are also available:
(a) Climate Change Action Fund
(b) Climate Change Action Fund - Public Outreach
Program - Summary of Early Action Projects
(c) Climate Change Action Fund - Science, Impacts
and Adaptation - Summary of Early Action Projects
Updates on these backgrounders are also available:
(a) Climate Change Action Fund
(b) Climate Change Action Fund - Public Outreach
Program - Summary of Early Action Projects
(c) Climate Change Action Fund - Science, Impacts
and Adaptation - Summary of Early Action Project
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