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Global warming will generate summit heat

Daniel McHardie
Telegraph-Journal
Published Tuesday August 7th, 2007
Appeared on page A1

FREDERICTON - Finding ways to reverse the effects of global warming could become the most contentious issue debated at this week's Council of the Federation summit.

Each of the 13 premiers and territorial leaders comes to the three-day event in Moncton with entrenched ideas and agendas. Finding consensus could prove a challenge for Premier Shawn Graham, the conference's chairman.

British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell said he will be pushing his colleagues for significant movement on combating global warming, starting Wednesday.

That movement includes each province and territory agreeing to attain California tailpipe emission standards limiting vehicle emissions by 2016. In addition, Campbell wants governments to enforce R-2000 building and Energuide 80 efficiency standards in their own buildings by 2008. He will also call for all government operations and Crown corporations to be carbon neutral by 2010.

Further, the B.C. premier says he will push his counterparts to capture all greenhouse gas emissions from landfills and urge municipalities to be carbon neutral by 2012.

"Those are real things that we can do and again you don't have to pay anyone for it," Campbell said.

"If we are going to say we are for things, let's actually do some stuff together that will do what Canadians want, that will strengthen our country and make a better place for all of us to live."

Graham didn't balk at any of Campbell's challenges and reiterated the importance of the leaders finding common ground.

"Each province will bring their own point of view to the table but at the end of the day there is more that unites us then divides us," Graham said.

Despite Graham's optimism, wide chasms exist. Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach said last week he had no intention of toughening his province's climate change strategy.

"The message is very clear: Don't mess with Alberta. Alberta's boom is Canada's boom," Stelmach said during a press conference.

Stelmach said any movements toward a system of hard caps on greenhouse-gas emissions or a cross-Canada trading market for pollution credits would likely send dollars and jobs out of the country's most petroleum-rich province.

The Alberta premier's comments are stark contrast to those of Dalton McGuinty. The Ontario premier comes to the Moncton summit with the two goals, including a cap-and-trade system.

"Number 1, we want hard targets, based on a 1990 baseline. Secondly, we're looking for an emissions trading program," McGuinty said.

"Everybody tells us that the only way you're going to make a real dent in greenhouse gas emissions is to attach a price to greenhouse gasses and the best way to do that is through an emissions trading program. So we'll be looking for those two characteristics to be found in any agreement that we're going to sign on to."

New Brunswick's premier has opposed a cap-and-trade network, but agreed to study the concept after it was raised at the New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers conference in Prince Edward Island in late June.

Prince Edward Island Premier Robert Ghiz, attending his first premier's summit, said prior to attending the conference he will unveil an energy efficiency office styled after the New Brunswick Energy Efficiency and Conservation Agency.

"Anything we can do to help our climate we should be doing," Ghiz said.

"Climate change is an issue that is here. It is not going away."

Saskatchewan's Lorne Calvert has also recently released his own climate change strategy. The prairie premier intends to use the two-day conference to steer his counterparts toward the "E-85 highway."

E-85 is a reference to the blend of gasoline with 85 per cent ethanol. Calvert's plan would see high-grade ethanol-blended fuels made available along existing routes. Ethanol is commonly used as an additive in gasoline.

Automakers are already building vehicles that can burn an 85-per-cent ethanol blend, although filling stations that sell the fuel at that concentration are few and far between.

Calvert, who thinks an E85 highway could help the environment and give a boost to the biofuels industry in Saskatchewan and other provinces, has already raised the concept with western premiers.

- with files from Canada News Service




Surprise suprise alberta could care less about global warming. I would like to see what graham has to say about this. I also wonder if the new refinery will effect graham's words...we may be benefiting from a little warmer climate but are we really.