version française

In its present form the Clean Air Act represents a complete abandonment of Canada's international commitment under the Kyoto Protocol. Rather than holding us to our Kyoto obligation to reduce our emissions to 6% below 1990 levels by 2010, it contains no short term targets at all and puts off any meaningful action to 2050.

Along with the Clean Air Act, the government has proposed ineffective regulations of greenhouse gases through what is called a Notice of Intent. The Clean Air Act is now going to a special parliamentary committee and will likely be greatly improved before it is passed.

The Notice of Intent calls for consultation with greenhouse gas polluters and the provinces between now and 2010 and sets to-be-determined intensity targets for industry sectors for 2010-2015. Intensity targets allow industry to continue increasing emissions. Further intensity targets will be put in place in 2020 and by 2050 Canada will adopt real reduction targets of 45%-60%. Canadian industrial emissions will continue to grow for at least the next 20 years as a result of the proposed regulations.

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act requires the government to grant a 60 day period for public comment (which ended December 19, 2006). This forum is used mostly by industry to object to government action but many of you, through CAN Canada, sent in written comments.

The “Clean Air Act” was tabled in the House of Commons on October 19, 2006. It is what is called “enabling legislation,” in that it does not stand alone but rather strengthens some existing legislation. The federal government is touting the Clean Air Act as the best way to strengthen the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA).

What the government is not telling you is that virtually every change contained in the Clean Air Act can be done now under CEPA. Federal ministers have all of the powers they need to establish tough short-term targets and regulations requiring industry to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions now. This can be done through the regular CEPA amendment process.

On the other hand, if passed, the Clean Air Act will establish a long and unnecessary consultation process with industry that puts off for years the emissions cuts we need to avoid catastrophic climate change.

The Clean Air Act is a delay tactic. It does nothing new of significance, and worse, it causes dangerous delays in regulating Canada's largest polluters.

Whenever government introduces changes to federal statutes or regulations it must publish its intention to do so in The Canada Gazette (see www.canadagazette.ca or http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2006/20061021/html/notice-e.html).

According to the Notice of Intent published alongside the release of the Clean Air Act, greenhouse gas polluters and the provinces will be consulted between now and 2010, with intensity targets for industry sectors in place by 2010-2015. [Note: Intensity targets are not hard caps on greenhouse gas pollution. They are a measure of energy used per units made, so as long as industry makes more stuff with the same amount of energy, emissions are allowed to continue to rise.] Further intensity targets would be in place in 2020 and by 2050. Real reduction targets of 45%-60% below 2003 will be in place by 2050. This target is far weaker than the 80% below 1990 levels climate scientists are recommending and other Kyoto signatories are using.

The Clean Air Act will result in Canadian industrial emissions continuing to grow for the next 20 years at least. This, at a time when scientists and economists are sounding the alarm that we must make large cuts in our greenhouse gas emissions within 10 to 15 years or face disastrous impacts from climate chaos.

Questions?
caas@climateactionnetwork.ca