Toronto, November 25, 2003 — "Green power" products that allow Canadians to meet their electricity needs while minimizing their impact on the environment are available in rapidly growing numbers. But despite its growth, Canada's green power sector is still very small compared to several other industrialized countries, primarily because federal and provincial governments have not yet adopted the policies that have been implemented in support of green power elsewhere. These are two of the main conclusions of a report to be released today by the Pembina Institute at the Canadian Power Conference in Toronto.
"Governments have committed to make green power a major element of efforts to meet our Kyoto Protocol target for greenhouse gases and to address air pollution," said report author Dr. Matthew Bramley, Director, Climate Change at the Pembina Institute. "Governments have taken significant initial steps, but now they must follow through on those bigger commitments."
Among the report's findings:
- Generation capacity associated with green power programs active at the end of 2002 was dominated by wind (43%), hydro (about 36%) and biomass (about 20%) facilities. Thirty-six percent of this capacity is located in Alberta, 27% in Ontario, 19% in Québec and 14% in British Columbia. But production of electricity by these facilities remained small as a proportion of total jurisdictional electricity production — 1.6% in Alberta, 0.9% in British Columbia, 0.5% in Ontario and 0.5% for Canada as a whole.
- Green power programs reduced Canada's greenhouse gas emissions in 2002 by about one megatonne (Mt). The federal plan for implementing the Kyoto Protocol commits to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 6.9 Mt by 2010. The report also estimates reductions in pollutants that cause smog and acid rain.
- Certification systems — notably the federal EcoLogo program — are playing an important role in developing markets for genuine, low-impact green power. A key function of certification is to prevent the environmental benefits of green power — benefits customers pay for — being claimed more than once. The report suggests that the EcoLogo program is not currently clear enough on this point.
The report, "Green Power Programs in Canada — 2002," provides a comprehensive survey of government policies and private sector initiatives to support and market green power that were active by the end of 2002. The report was funded by Environment Canada, although the Pembina Institute is solely responsible for its content, which Environment Canada does not necessarily endorse.
Dr. Bramley will present key findings of the report today at 1:30pm at the Canadian Power Conference, and will be available for interviews. The conference, organized by the Independent Power Producers' Society of Ontario (IPPSO), is taking place at Toronto's Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building, Room 803A, 222 Bremner Blvd. Media passes are available.