GOVERNMENT OF CANADA ANNOUNCES $1 BILLION TOWARD IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CLIMATE CHANGE PLAN FOR CANADA

August 12, 2003
Ottawa, Ontario

The Government of Canada today announced the details of the investment of $1 billion towards the implementation of the Climate Change Plan for Canada. This investment is part of the Budget 2003 allocation and builds on $1.7 billion the Government of Canada has invested in climate change over the past five years.

"Canada's approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions is to think long-term and act short term," said Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. "This investment is an important step toward helping all Canadians reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the short-term, but will also open doors to tremendous economic opportunities over the long-term through research and technological innovations."

The investments are intended to act as a catalyst for, and a complement to, actions by individual Canadians; industry and business; and governments and communities.

• Individual Canadians - Incentives to encourage Canadians to make their homes more energy efficient and investments in programs that will help Canadians make environmentally-friendly transportation choices and purchasing decisions ($131.4 million).
  
• Industry and business - Help for business and industry to reduce emissions using available technologies in areas such as the buildings and transportation sector, and to work with the financial sector to invest in fast-growing tree plantations ($302.9 million), as well as investments towards the development of new technologies that will help to reduce emissions over the longer-term and seize new economic opportunities ($250 million). (This is in addition to $250 million announced in Budget 2003 toward Sustainable Development Technology Canada and $50 million towards the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences).
  
• Governments and communities - Funding for partnerships with provinces and territories on cost-effective emission reduction initiatives, as well as assisting Aboriginal and northern communities respond to climate change and demonstrating leadership by aggressively reducing Government of Canada emissions ($320.7 million.)

"Past investments and those that we are announcing today will bring about real and significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions which will help to improve quality of life for all Canadians," said Environment Minister David Anderson. "We are anxious to move ahead quickly with our partners on practical and cost-effective measures by taking full advantage of the opportunities presented for collaboration."

"Canadian businesses and industries will be able to seize the opportunities of emissions reduction, developing and bringing to commercial markets new products and methods, such as hydrogen technology, that will be needed as the world searches for answers to climate change," said Industry Minister Allan Rock.

"Today's announcement brings us closer to what the Climate Change Plan for Canada asks of Canadians to become the most sophisticated and efficient producers and consumers of energy in the world, and leaders in the development of new, cleaner technologies," said Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal.

Released on November 21, 2002, the Climate Change Plan for Canada is based on extensive consultations with provincial and territorial governments, industry, environmental organizations and individual Canadians. It sets out the strategy by which all Canadians and all sectors can work together to meet our Kyoto commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to an average of six per cent below 1990 levels during the period 2008-2012.

Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol on December 17, 2002. As of July 10, 2003, 111 countries have ratified or accessed the Kyoto Protocol.

The Government of Canada has committed more than $3.7 billion to climate change programs and to the development of leading edge technologies over the past five years, including $2 billion in Budget 2003 alone. Budget 2003 also allocated an additional $3 billion to the Government of Canada's ongoing investment in the nation's infrastructure. This program will place an enhanced focus on projects that relate to helping meet Canada's climate change goals.

Today's announcement took place at the University of Ottawa's School of Information Technology and Engineering, which uses the most modern techniques and materials to minimize the cost of heating and cooling while maximizing the amount of natural light available. The atrium on the building's south side has been hailed as one of the largest inhabited solar panels in the world.

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Backgrounders and additional information on the Climate Change Plan for Canada are available at: www.climatechange.gc.ca

For more information, please contact:

PMO Press Office
(613) 957-5555

Kelly Morgan
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of the Environment
(819) 997-1441

Selena Beattie
Office of the Minister of Industry
(613) 995-9001

Alex Muir
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Natural Resources Canada
(613) 996-2007