Ministers Anderson and Dhaliwal Welcome Launch of GELCO

OTTAWA, June 10, 2002 - The Honourable David Anderson, Minister of the Environment, and Natural Resources Canada Minister Herb Dhaliwal, today congratulated Friends of the Earth on the launch of its new initiative, the Green Electricity Leaders' Coalition of Ontario (GELCO). GELCO is designed to promote the purchase of green electricity by commercial electricity customers in Ontario.

"I am confident that the Friends of the Earth's GELCO initiative will assist in further developing this innovative market, and provide due recognition for the companies making this electricity choice", said Minister Anderson.

The Government of Canada has been actively promoting green electricity since 1997, when significant amounts of wind-generated electricity were purchased for its facilities in Alberta. The government also announced in Budget 2000 new "green power" purchases for federal facilities in Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island.

"Many governments and institutions, numerous businesses and thousands of Canadians have joined us in choosing electricity produced in an environmentally-friendly way", added Minister Anderson. "This has offset greenhouse gas emissions by some 280,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, with commensurate reductions of emissions that contribute to smog and acid rain."

The release of the Friends of the Earth's Green Electricity Buyers' Guide to help more corporations make the right choice more easily, was supported in part through a $50,000 contribution from the Government of Canada's Climate Change Action Fund.

As well, through Action Plan 2000, the Government of Canada has announced measures to accelerate the introduction of emerging renewable energy sources in the market place, including purchasing 20 per cent of federal electricity requirements from these new energy sources. In May 2002, Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal launched a new $260 million federal production incentive to encourage the construction of 1,000 megawatts of new wind power capacity over five years.

"Increasing our use of emerging renewable energy sources is a part of Canada's plan to address climate change and improve air quality," said Minister Dhaliwal. "The Government of Canada is helping these new energy sources become full-fledged market participants by the Kyoto commitment period, thereby ensuring that future generations share the economic, social and environmental benefits of our natural resources."