COPENHAGEN
-- December 17, 2009 -- The Honourable Jim
Prentice, Minister of the Environment, today
delivered Canada's national statement to
delegates at the United Nations Climate
Change Conference. The 15th meeting of the
Conference of Parties (COP15) has brought
nations together to work on developing a
political agreement that will address our
shared global economic and environmental
challenges, and ensure a growing supply
of clean, affordable energy for all countries.
"To be as fair
and effective as possible, a Copenhagen
agreement should be one that includes measurable,
reportable and verifiable commitments and
actions covering emissions in developed
and developing countries," said Minister
Prentice. "Canada believes an agreement
must support the development and deployment
of clean technologies, along with constructive
and ambitious global action."
In his statement, Minister
Prentice stressed that Canadians of all
ages and in all regions share a profound
interest in contributing to effective global
action on climate change.
Minister Prentice went
on to state that all countries have an obligation
to take action on climate change in accordance
with their capacity to do so. The Minister
noted that each country should ensure the
transition can be maintained over the long-term
- even through periods of economic growth
or uncertainty.
"Canada's broad-based
actions to address climate change take into
account our large, diverse landmass, our
growing population and the importance of
our energy sector for meeting global demand,"
said Minister Prentice. "Our approach
also reflects the strong economic ties between
Canada and the United States and the need
to ensure our actions are aligned with our
neighbour."
Frédéric Baril
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
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Government of Canada
shows Leadership and Partnership on Clean
Energy Initiatives
Canada leads Technology
Action Plan for Advanced Vehicles - COPENHAGEN,
- December 14, 2009 - The Honourable Jim
Prentice, Canada's Environment Minister
today joined with the U.S. Secretary of
Energy Steven Chu, and other members of
the Major Economies Forum (MEF), to welcome
the release of the Technological Action
Plans (TAPS) and the launch of the Climate
Renewable and Efficiency Deployment Initiative
(REDI) Program.
Climate REDI is a new
U.S.-led initiative that will advance the
MEF Global Partnership. Its overall goal
is to promote new ways to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions among MEF countries, complementing
existing bilateral and multilateral energy
efficiency and clean energy technology programs.
Canadahas already been
active in the Global Partnership launched
by Leaders of the MEF at their Summit in
July 2009. At that meeting, a number of
countries agreed to lead on the development
of a series of Technology Action Plans looking
at the challenges and opportunities available
to advance technological progress in key
technologies areas.
"This sort of technology-based
agreement is a key to the international
climate change agreement being negotiated
here in Copenhagen," said Minister
Prentice. "Canada is pleased to be
leading with the Technology Action Plan
for Advanced Vehicles, which will contribute,
among other things, to developing and deploying
greener, better-performing vehicles worldwide."
Through the MEF process,
Canada and its partners have identified
challenges and opportunities in such areas
as carbon capture and storage, smart power
grids, energy efficiency, bioenergy and
renewables. In particular, Canada led a
group that focused on improving the energy
efficiency of vehicles.
"Canada remains
committed to working closely with the U.S.
and other international partners towards
the development, deployment and diffusion
of a number of transformational, low-carbon,
climate-friendly technologies," said
Industry Canada Minister Tony Clement.
Together with the U.S.,
Canada is working towards a common North
American approach to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions for vehicles by introducing aligned
and progressively tighter regulatory requirements
over the 2011-2016 model years.
Along with such international
partnerships, Canada is also developing
stringent domestic regulatory requirements
to limit greenhouse gas emissions and has
recently released draft regulations to limit
greenhouse gas emissions from new vehicles
beginning with the 2011 model year.
Frédéric Baril
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
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Canada Becomes a Founding
Member of the Global Research Alliance On
Agricultural Greenhouse Gases
COPENHAGEN, Denmark
-- December 16, 2009 -- The Government of
Canada has joined an international network
as a founding member of the Global Research
Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases
to drive agricultural research that will
deliver practical benefits for both the
environment and Canadian farmers.
"By developing
new ways to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions
from agricultural activities, this Government
is working to help Canadian farmers to continue
to show leadership and share their best
practices," said Environment Minister
Jim Prentice. "Scientists around the
world are working to find new ways to reduce
emissions and increase productivity and
this alliance will serve to identify gaps
in existing research and increase international
collaboration."
"As part of the
Alliance, Canada will participate in world-class
research with other countries and Canada's
farmers will gain access to international
leading-edge research and technologies,"
said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz. "This
will provide our farmers with new tools
and practices that reduce their costs and
allow them to take advantage of carbon trading
systems."
Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada will invest up to $27 million towards
the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural
Greenhouse Gases.
In addition to environmental
benefits, reducing greenhouse gases emissions
in agriculture brings direct economic benefits
to the farm gate, including increased efficiency
of livestock production and nutrient use,
as well as more economical land use.
The Alliance includes
New Zealand, the United States, Australia,
Chile, Denmark, France, Germany, Ghana,
Ireland, Japan, the United Kingdom, Sweden,
Switzerland, Uruguay, and Vietnam. Countries
will collaborate on research projects and
exchange knowledge on new research and practices
for greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture.
The agriculture sector
has a unique relationship with the environment
and the Global Research Alliance on Agricultural
Greenhouse Gases will help the sector grow
and profit as we continue to adapt to different
climate conditions.
Frédéric Baril
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
