Canadian climate gap narrowing, Kent says
Environment Minister Peter Kent touted the federal government’s progress in tackling greenhouse gas emissions Wednesday as he addressed an international climate change summit in Doha, Qatar. He also suggested that the private sector must play a “critical” role in the future.
Figures released by his department in August estimated Canada’s annual heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions would be about 20 per cent above the target pledged by Prime Minister Stephen Harper under the 2009 Copenhagen agreement.
But Kent told delegates at the United Nations summit that Canada was halfway toward closing the gap and meeting its goal.
“The final regulations for coal-fired electricity plants that we announced this past September make Canada the first country in the world to effectively ban the construction of traditional coal plants,” Kent said in his prepared statement. “Our efforts will achieve real environmental and health benefits for all Canadians.”
Kent said North American regulations to reduce emissions from new vehicles would also result in benefits for the environment, consumers and the economy.
Critics have suggested the Canadian government needs to offer more support to help developing countries adapt to climate change and switch to cleaner sources of energy.
Kent said Canada recognized the importance of offering support, noting it had previously pledged $1.2 billion over three years and was focused on ensuring the money would be used effectively.
“To maximize the impact of our contribution, Canada has structured its fast-start financing investments in a way that encourages private investment and innovation,” he said. “This will be a critical component of longerterm climate-change financing. The success we are seeing with our Canadian investments will yield key lessons for the global community.
Kent, who recently said he was convinced that climate change was a “real and present danger” that needed to be addressed, also told delegates that Canada, as an Arctic nation, profoundly understood the threat.
The Harper government gave notice in 2011 that it would formally withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol, the world’s only legally binding treaty requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, after the Doha conference concludes.
Kent said the government was still interested in working toward a new treaty that includes all major polluting countries, starting in 2020.