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