Nov. 16, 01:40 EDT

Link energy policy and climate issues
Security can be enhanced by limiting dependence on imported fossil fuels

Lloyd Axworthy
ASSOCIATED PRESS

The potential contradiction between Canada's position on energy development and climate change needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.

On the one hand, the federal and provincial governments are scrambling to take advantage of the United States' increasing demand for energy, including oil and gas, stated so clearly in the Bush administration's new national energy policy report. At the same time, the federal government has committed Canada to ratifying the Kyoto protocol and meeting the challenge of reducing its annual greenhouse gas emissions to an average of 6 per cent below our 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012.

Overcoming these conflicting policy priorities requires weaving action on climate change into any continental energy strategy developed with Mexico and the United States. Components of this strategy should include the use of renewable energy, promotion of energy efficiency and the development of a continental emissions trading system. Only a North American energy strategy that incorporates effective measures to implement these components should be accepted by Canada.

Integrating climate change issues into a continental energy strategy would not only aid Canada in meeting its Kyoto target, it will also re-engage the United States on this critical issue. Although it has rejected the Kyoto protocol, the U.S. committed itself to taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions when it ratified the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change under former president George Bush Sr.

The Commission for Environmental Cooperation has already provided an avenue for beginning this process. At its June meeting in Guadalajara, the commission recommended pursuing market-based approaches to promote carbon sequestration, energy efficiency and renewable energy that could ultimately lead to the development of a North American emissions trading regime. With such a trading system in place, Canada would be able to participate in a continental emissions market, as well as the larger-scale trading regime envisioned under the Kyoto protocol.

The need for an integrated energy policy that addresses climate change was one of the recommendations of the recent report of the Manitoba Climate Change Task Force. As chair of this task force, I heard from a variety of Manitobans about the potential impacts of climate change and the need to implement mitigation measures, identify adaptation strategies and engage the public on the issue.

The opportunities available to Manitobans and Canadians as we enter a new economy based on clean renewable energy became clear through the work of this task force. Addressing climate change will enable us to build our expertise in fuel cell and other energy technologies, and expand the use of existing renewable energy resources, such as hydroelectricity, biofuels and wind. The establishment of a continental emissions trading system would increase demand for Canadian energy from these sources, providing a premium to clean energy producers.

Action on climate change will also address the emerging global imperative for human security that has been underscored by the events of Sept. 11. Human security in North America can only be enhanced by limiting our dependence on imported fossil fuels, increasing the self-reliance that will come through encouraging energy conservation and the development of our renewable energy resources. We also know that the impacts of climate change will produce greater instability, poverty and numbers of environmental refugees Ñ effects that create fertile ground for the growth of fanaticism. A concerted international effort to reduce greenhouse gases can help to avoid some of these frightening scenarios and make our world a safer place.

To meet the challenge of climate change, governments in Canada must move beyond promises and ongoing consultations to the immediate development of a comprehensive action plan. The Kyoto protocol must be ratified following a swift but effective national consultation process that emphasizes provincial-territorial-federal co-operation and consensus building. Efforts to develop a national and international emissions trading system need to be accelerated. As one of the key jurisdictions responsible for ensuring the implementation of Canada's action plan, provincial governments must participate by taking the lead in developing Canada's response to climate change.

Federal, provincial and territorial energy and environment ministers had an opportunity to begin this process when they gathered in Winnipeg on Sept. 24. They must now continue their commitment to taking decisive, effective action on climate change and facilitate its integration into a continental energy strategy. They must now demonstrate that Canadians are able to take advantage of the opportunities and reduce the risks associated with climate change.


Lloyd Axworthy is former foreign affairs minister of Canada. He is currently director of the Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues at the University of British Columbia.