Years.
We have been waiting for this plan for years. If you knew the number of propositions that all the people involved in environment have done so we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and polluting emissions, you would have a hard time believing it. After years of studies, consultations, memoirs, research, debating, and propositions, the federal government gave birth to a plan that is really... depressing.
Let's resume this "Project Green"
The Canadian government has committed to invest 10 billion dollars to fight greenhouse gas emissions. That money will be invested in various programs so that industries, different levels of the government, institutions and citizens can all do their part in order to meet the objectives of the Kyoto protocol.
However, the government has decided that individuals must proportionally pay much more than large industries. Since Canada has to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 560 megatons by 2012, it will have to find a way to reduce its emissions by 270 Mt, because it nothing is done, the country is projected to emit 830 Mt in 2012.
Out of these 270 Mt, only 41.3 will be assumed by the industries. So, we as citizens will have to reduce our emissions by 228.7 Mt, which is a lot.
To give you an idea of what the lack of balance in responsibility that this represents, know that the oil industry, the thermal electricity producers, and concrete works produce 50% of the country's emissions. However, we ask them to assume only 13%. The rest of their responsibility will be paid by various funds that battle against climate changes. Since these funds come from the federal government and the federal government's money comes from us... We're going to pay so the industries can reduce their emissions... Simple, isn't it?
And like I mentioned last week, the automotive industry having to assume only 5.3 Mt of the 46 Mt that they're responsible of and should assume (approximately 1/8th), we'll end up paying for them also. So, we will as citizens have to assume 74% of the efforts even though we produce only 23% of the emissions.
The least we can say is that the government shows a preference for the large industries to the detriment of the citizens. It is quite extraordinary to see how little the oil industry has to contribute in the reduction effort at a time when they are making so much money. Therefore, not only do we pay more and more for our gas, but we also subsidize them so they don't have to be responsible towards global warming.
Quite frustrating. And I haven't even mentioned the Gomery commission yet...
Here's a quote from the text of the federal government's Project Green:
"Canada's climate change-related investments to date have delivered energy efficiency, energy conservation and cost savings across the economy. It is estimated that Canadian industry is saving $3 billion per year on fuel costs due to advanced energy management practices. Economy-wide savings in energy costs would have been had energy efficiency improvements not taken place. Further action on climate change will see these numbers grow." (1)
As you can see, investing in energy economy and better energy efficiency, we not only pollute less, but also save money. So, the large industries not only don't pay their fair share in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but they will increase their profit margin. However, we should ask: if the federal government subsidies to help the industry fight against greenhouse gas emissions increase their profit, doesn't this come into conflict with the ALENA accord which could give American industries an argument to tax the import of these products (as mentioned in Article 11) for unfair competition?
(I know that it's absurd to talk about unfair competition when dealing with Americans, but since they did it in the case of softwood lumber, wheat and various other products... like Jean de la Fontaine said: "The law of the strongest is always the better one". Or, in other words, they never want to lose, even if it means cheating.)
We have been waiting for this plan for years. If you knew the number of propositions that all the people involved in environment have done so we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and polluting emissions, you would have a hard time believing it. After years of studies, consultations, memoirs, research, debating, and propositions, the federal government gave birth to a plan that is really... depressing.
Let's resume this "Project Green"
The Canadian government has committed to invest 10 billion dollars to fight greenhouse gas emissions. That money will be invested in various programs so that industries, different levels of the government, institutions and citizens can all do their part in order to meet the objectives of the Kyoto protocol.
However, the government has decided that individuals must proportionally pay much more than large industries. Since Canada has to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 560 megatons by 2012, it will have to find a way to reduce its emissions by 270 Mt, because it nothing is done, the country is projected to emit 830 Mt in 2012.
Out of these 270 Mt, only 41.3 will be assumed by the industries. So, we as citizens will have to reduce our emissions by 228.7 Mt, which is a lot.
To give you an idea of what the lack of balance in responsibility that this represents, know that the oil industry, the thermal electricity producers, and concrete works produce 50% of the country's emissions. However, we ask them to assume only 13%. The rest of their responsibility will be paid by various funds that battle against climate changes. Since these funds come from the federal government and the federal government's money comes from us... We're going to pay so the industries can reduce their emissions... Simple, isn't it?
And like I mentioned last week, the automotive industry having to assume only 5.3 Mt of the 46 Mt that they're responsible of and should assume (approximately 1/8th), we'll end up paying for them also. So, we will as citizens have to assume 74% of the efforts even though we produce only 23% of the emissions.
The least we can say is that the government shows a preference for the large industries to the detriment of the citizens. It is quite extraordinary to see how little the oil industry has to contribute in the reduction effort at a time when they are making so much money. Therefore, not only do we pay more and more for our gas, but we also subsidize them so they don't have to be responsible towards global warming.
Quite frustrating. And I haven't even mentioned the Gomery commission yet...
Here's a quote from the text of the federal government's Project Green:
"Canada's climate change-related investments to date have delivered energy efficiency, energy conservation and cost savings across the economy. It is estimated that Canadian industry is saving $3 billion per year on fuel costs due to advanced energy management practices. Economy-wide savings in energy costs would have been had energy efficiency improvements not taken place. Further action on climate change will see these numbers grow." (1)
As you can see, investing in energy economy and better energy efficiency, we not only pollute less, but also save money. So, the large industries not only don't pay their fair share in the effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but they will increase their profit margin. However, we should ask: if the federal government subsidies to help the industry fight against greenhouse gas emissions increase their profit, doesn't this come into conflict with the ALENA accord which could give American industries an argument to tax the import of these products (as mentioned in Article 11) for unfair competition?
(I know that it's absurd to talk about unfair competition when dealing with Americans, but since they did it in the case of softwood lumber, wheat and various other products... like Jean de la Fontaine said: "The law of the strongest is always the better one". Or, in other words, they never want to lose, even if it means cheating.)