Alberta, along with Newfoundland and Labrador, were the strongest opponents to setting targets for energy efficiency and conservation at a recent meeting of the Council of Energy Ministers (CEM). At the September 25 meeting in Whistler, B.C., the ministers pledged to increase governmental cooperation and to collaborate on developing new technologies; but fell short of committing to tangible actions to improve energy efficiency directly.
"Alberta Energy Minister Mel Knight had an excellent opportunity to make a strong statement regarding energy conservation, but instead became the wet blanket at the conference," said Marlo Raynolds, Executive Director at the Pembina Institute.
At the beginning of his mandate, Premier Ed Stelmach identified three key priorities for the energy minister. One of the three priorities is a comprehensive energy strategy including a strategy on energy conservation. Eight months after Knight became Energy Minister, no progress on this priority has been reported by either the Premier or the Minister.
"In November 2006, the Government of Alberta agreed to develop an overarching Energy Conservation and Efficiency Framework for Alberta, and they agreed to do it 'in a timely manner'," stated Jesse Row, Director of Pembina's Sustainable Communities Group. "Ten months of delay hardly seems 'timely'."
To its credit, the CEM agreed that energy efficiency and conservation have the potential to reduce energy demand in Canada by an amount equal to almost 25 per cent of today's energy use by 2030, Row said. This is equivalent to nearly all of the transportation energy we currently use in Canada.
"At meeting after meeting of Canada's G8, APEC and OECD partners, energy efficiency has been identified as the most cost effective solution to climate change," said Roger Peters, Pembina's Senior Technical and Policy Advisor. "Efficiency improvements also provide significant benefits such as lower energy bills for business and consumers, and local employment opportunities."
The Pembina Institute is urging the Alberta Government to place energy conservation and efficiency at the heart of its energy strategy in a massive scale up of effort to realize the potential of this untapped resource.
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For more information:
Jesse Row
Director, Sustainable Communities Group
Tel: 403-269-3344 ext. 110
jesser@pembina.org