Canada Funds Clean Air Package

Canadian Environment Minister David Anderson announced a C$120.2 million (US$79 million) clean air package on February 20. “Our goal is simple,” he says. “To meet or exceed the standards that the U.S. Government is bringing in – standards that are recognized as amongst the toughest in the world. The package is part of a C$1.1 billion (US$715 million) fund the government set up last year to pay for air quality and climate change measures.

The money will be used to reduce industrial emissions (C$20 million, US$13 million), upgrade air quality monitoring stations (C$30 million, US$19.5 million), and expand the National Pollutant Release Inventory – a database of pollutants and polluters – from the present 2,100 companies to 7000 companies in 2005 (C$23 million, US$15 million). But the emphasis is on reducing the impact of transportation (C$50 million, US$32.5 million). Canada will expand emissions testing programs, cut the sulphur content of fuel starting in 2005, and cars and trucks will be required to meet tougher emissions standards. The standards will also apply to snow blowers, portable generators, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, weed trimmers and chain saws.

Transportation is the biggest source of air pollution in Canada. In 1998, nearly 18 million motor vehicles were registered in a country of 30 million people.

Last year, Canada launched the Clean Air Strategy and signed the Canada-United States Ozone Annex. Key elements of the Clean Air Strategy include reducing emissions from vehicles starting in 2004, and working with Canada’s 10 provinces and three territories to set nationwide standards to reduce air pollution from mercury, benzene, ozone and particulate matter by 2010 at the latest. The Ozone Annex, negotiated last year under the Canada-U.S. Air Quality Agreement, includes commitments by both countries to drastically reduce NOx and VOC emissions.

Environmental NGOs point out problems with the plan. Emission regulations are a step in the right direction but will not affect vehicles currently on the road or impact the sheer number of vehicles. The Pembina Institute notes that Canada lags behind most countries in developing markets for renewable energy and that it continues to subsidize fossil fuel and nuclear energy industries instead of clean energy.

With Suncor Energy Inc., the Pembina Institute just launched the The Clean Air Renewable Energy Coalition (CARE), consisting of corporations, NGOs and municipal organizations, to accelerate development of Canada’s renewable energy industry. The coalition is initially urging the federal government to implement a Consumer Green Energy Credit to increase demand for green power and broaden tax credits to support capital spending for green power supplies. Other members include the Federation of Canadian Municipalities which represents 61% of the population, Friends of the Earth, Pollution Probe, and the Toronto Environmental Alliance, and energy corporations such as BC Hydro, BP Canada Energy Company, Enbridge, Shell, Toronto Hydro Corporation, TransAlta, and Westcoast Energy.

“Aggressive implementation of low-impact energy technologies is an essential component of any credible national program to address air pollution and climate change,” says David Pollack, executive director of the Pembina Institute. Fully 40% of Canada’s Action Plan 2000 on Climate Change emission reductions for the energy sector can be met from these projects. Denmark, Germany and the United States all currently produce 15 – 30 times more electricity from wind power than Canada.

In December, Environment Canada approved a plan to build three utility scale wind turbines on Toronto’s shoreline of Lake Ontario. They are the first turbines to be sited in a North American downtown setting.

The non-profit Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative (TREC) and Toronto Hydro Energy Services, the second largest distribution utility in North America, formed the Windpower Co-op which allows customers (individuals and organizations) to invest in the turbines. They hope to attract at least 2,000 investors and to develop other renewable energy projects using this method. Investors will be eligible to vote in how the Co-op is run and will receive a share of the green energy produced for a minimum investment of C$500 (US$328).

TREC is receiving C$330,000 (US$216,500) from Canada’s Climate Change Action Fund to install the first wind turbine. Environment Canada is purchasing C$98,500 (US$64,600) of wind energy for its Toronto offices and laboratories.

TREC: http://www.trec.on.ca