Ottawa — Canadians do not have any assurance that automakers will do their part to cut greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, say the David Suzuki Foundation and the Pembina Institute in response to the federal government's announcement that it has reached a voluntary agreement with car manufacturers.
"A voluntary agreement will not be effective unless it contains an automatic trigger for regulations to kick in if the industry misses interim targets," said Dale Marshall, an Ottawa-based policy analyst with the Suzuki Foundation. "Without this regulatory backstop, the industry has no incentive to comply."
"To make a real contribution to Kyoto, the emission reductions must be quantified with a rigourous, credible methodology laid out in the agreement," added Dr. Matthew Bramley, director, climate change with the Pembina Institute. "If the methodology is unclear, we cannot know if the reductions are real."
Both environmental organizations say that limits on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles are best set by regulation — something the government already has the power to do under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. But in the absence of regulation, a voluntary agreement can only be credible and effective if it:
- Contains an automatic trigger for regulations to kick in if interim targets are missed;
- Lays out a rigourous, credible methodology for quantifying emission reductions;
- Requires public reporting and third-party verification of progress towards targets.
"If these conditions are not met, the government will be caving in to business interests instead of doing what is needed to meet Canada's legal obligations under the Kyoto Protocol," said Marshall.
Mr. Marshall notes that there is abundant evidence that the auto industry already has the technological expertise to build cars that pollute less and require fewer raw materials to build.
Passenger cars and light trucks were responsible for 10 per cent of Canada's greenhouse gas emissions in 2002. The Kyoto Protocol, under which Canada must reduce its emissions to 6 per cent below the 1990 level during 2008-12, became international law on February 16, 2005.
For more information, call:
Dr. Matthew Bramley (819) 483-6288 x 26
Sarah Marchildon
Communications specialist
David Suzuki Foundation
Vancouver: (604) 732-4228, ext. 237
