27/11/2005
– The Honourable Stéphane Dion, Minister of the
Environment, participated in a tree planting event on
Mount Royal and announced that the United Nations Climate
Change Conference: Montréal 2005 will be a carbon
neutral event.
In keeping with the commitment to sustainable development
and in order to host the United Nations Climate Change
Conference as a carbon neutral event, the Government of
Canada will be working with the Pembina Institute to retire
approximately 10,000 tonnes of certified emission reduction
credits from Canadian-generated wind power. The Government
of Canada is also taking steps to reduce the environmental
impacts of the conference.
"I am proud to announce that the Government of Canada
is showing leadership at this milestone meeting to address
climate change by hosting a carbon neutral event and,
I am pleased that all events being hosted by Canada as
part of my Presidency of COP11 will continue to follow
the precedent set in Montréal," said the Honourable
Stéphane Dion, Minister of the Environment.
"We are very pleased to assist in helping make the
United Nations Climate Change Conference carbon neutral,"
said Marlo Raynolds, the Executive Director of the Pembina
Institute. "We created the Wind Power by Pembina
program to help individuals, corporations and governments
alike help move towards a sustainable energy future by
setting a great example and powering their computers,
homes, businesses or events by the wind."
A Carbon Neutral Conference is an extension of a green
meeting, which allows organizers to offset greenhouse
gases (GHGs) resulting from a meeting which cannot be
reduced through other means. Conference-generated emissions
are based on each participant's long-distance and local
travel, as well as local accommodation and the conference
venues. It is estimated that event attendance and accommodations
will generate approximately 10,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalents.
Hydro-Québec and its partners plan to go above
and beyond, and have adopted measures that will significantly
offset the amount of greenhouse gases (approximately 60
kilotonnes of CO2 emissions) produced as a result of the
Conference. This will make it a "Climate Positive"
event.
Part of this initiative is the Corporation Saint-Laurent
/ Jour de la Terre's project which involves planting 10,000
trees in 100 Quebec communities beginning with Montréal.
The planting of 100 trees on Mount Royal will symbolize
the offset of GHG emissions created by the, approximately,
10,000 conference participants.
In all, 70 kilotonnes of CO2 emissions will be offset.
By hosting the United Nations Climate Change Conference
as a carbon neutral event, the Government of Canada is
displaying its commitment to taking concrete actions in
addressing climate change and hopes to lead by example
in the area of climate change mitigation, as well as help
to set a precedent for future international meetings.
Related Document:
• United Nations Conference Climate Change: The Greening
of a Carbon Neutral Conference [2005-11-27] Backgrounder
For more information on United Nations Climate Change
Conference: Montréal 2005, please visit:
http://www.montreal2005.gc.ca
For more information on the Pembina Institute, please
visit: www.pembina.org
