Canada can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 70
million tons in the transportation, industry, energy and agricultural-forestry
sectors at no cost to consumers or the government, says a
report released this week by UBC’s Liu Institute for Global
Issues.
Under the Kyoto Accord, Canada has agreed to reduce Greenhouse
Gas (GHG) emissions to 6 per cent below the level it was in
1990 (600 million tons of C02 equivalent)
"The government’s plans involve measures that will cost
a minimum of $5 billion per year and we are concerned with
these figures," said Prof. Hadi Dowlatabadi, lead author
of the report and Canada Research Chair in Global Change.
"Our report offers a number of policy solutions to deliver
more than 70 million tons a year of emissions reductions that
not only pay for themselves but that also address Canadians’
existing concerns about road safety, household energy expenses,
rural incomes, and heath and pollution concerns."
The report’s recommendations include:
- Imposing minimum efficiency standards for automobiles
and trucks that would force manufacturers to build lighter
SUVs and offer smaller, more efficient cars; - Encouraging households to switch to high-efficiency furnaces
over the mid-efficiency units currently in wide use, offering
low-interest loans for these purchases; - Implementing regulations for the use of biogas digesters
to treat water and solid waste generated by the poultry
and pork production industries. - Encouraging existing utilities providers to invest in
smaller, widely dispersed power generation systems (co-generation)
to replace conventional central power plants and power-lines.
The report also addresses the pitfalls of tradable permits
as a means of achieving cost effective and efficient C02 reductions
in Canada.
The full report can be downloaded at http://www.ligi.ubc.ca.
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