Between 1990 and 1995, Alberta's greenhouse gas emissions grew by 18%, reaching 189 million tonnes. While the Alberta Government has actively participated in Canada's Voluntary Challenge and Registry program, serious efforts to encourage and facilitate greenhouse gas emission reductions across the Alberta economy have been absent from a broader provincial action plan. There are several reasons why the Alberta Government must become constructively engaged in designing and implementing solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions:
- climate change threatens Alberta's ecosystems and the economic activities that depend on them
- reducing greenhouse gas emissions will help resolve important regional air quality and health concerns
- investments in energy efficiency will help Alberta retain a competitive position
The 18 actions proposed in Alberta Solutions are a mix of regulatory, fiscal and voluntary measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They deal with emissions from all major sectors and most of them have already been implemented in other countries or in other regions of Canada. If implemented, these measures will contribute to meeting Alberta's fair share of greenhouse gas emission reductions and to positioning the Alberta economy to be efficient and technologically advanced enough to prosper in the 21st century global economy.
