May 12, 2007

Pictou (Nova Scotia) – Canada's Minister of the Environment, John Baird, joined by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Canada Atlantic Opportunities Agency, Peter MacKay, and Nova Scotia's Minister of Environment and Labour Mark Parent, today announced $42.5 million in funding for Nova Scotia's part of Canada's $1.5 billion trust for clean air and climate change. The trust was set up by Canada's New Government to support provincial and territorial projects to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution.

“With our announcement in Nova Scotia today, Canada's New Government has completed negotiations with all ten provinces and three territories,” said Minister Baird.  “By working to address each province's unique environmental challenges, Canada is getting real results for the environment on both a local level and a national scale.”

“Nova Scotia's environmental initiatives reflect the type of balanced action that Canada's New Government is encouraging,” said Minister MacKay.  “By supporting Nova Scotia's environmental initiatives, we can work together on behalf of all Nova Scotians to find concrete and realistic solutions to our shared environmental challenges.”

“We are pleased the federal government is here today, joining forces with us in dealing with climate change. This fund will support Nova Scotia's new Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act commitments,” said Minister Parent.  "With strong federal leadership like we see today, we will be able to accelerate our plans to achieve 18.5 percent renewable energy, and reduced harmful emissions, by 2013.”

The federal funding creates the Nova Scotia Green Trust and is intended to support projects consistent with Nova Scotia's belief that climate change is real and that humans play a role in such change. The initial announcements will help the Province reduce its greenhouse gas emissions immediately by over 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and 400 tonnes of sulphur dioxide per year, which helps reduce acid rain. In addition, about 30 tonnes per year of harmful particulate matter will be eliminated. Nova Scotia has indicated that it will use the funding to support several provincial projects, which will include:

• converting the heating plants at the Capital District Health Authority from burning Bunker C to natural gas. This will create a market for natural gas on the peninsula of Halifax to enable suppliers to bring gas across the harbour and make it available to businesses, home-owners and the universities, which will further reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
  
  
• pending the outcome of a strategic environmental assessment, expanding Nova Scotia's portfolio of renewable energy to include funding for one or more tidal power pilot project;
  
  
• establishing the Nova Scotia Municipal Climate and Clean Air Fund to enable Nova Scotia municipalities to take on projects that will reduce carbon emissions;
  
  
• setting aside funds to conduct studies and experiments in the sequestration of Carbon Dioxide; and
  
  
• establishing the Nova Scotia Environmental Technology Fund to support the development, commercialization, and use of new technologies and applications to reduce greenhouse gases.

Canada's New Government is taking a leadership role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution with diversified and complementary measures, including its aggressive regulations to reduce emissions in all sectors. These initiatives will stop the increase of greenhouse gas emissions by 2010 and no later than 2012 and achieve an absolute reduction of 150 megatonnes of greenhouse gases by 2020.  Our plan will also cut air pollution in half by 2015.

Canada's New Government will also continue to work in close partnership with provinces and territories to promote collaborative approaches to reduce air emissions. This will avoid unnecessary duplication of effort so Canadians get the maximum environmental benefits with the least amount of administrative and cost burden for industry.

For further information on Nova Scotia's programs, please visit: http://www.gov.ns.ca/enla