CANADA AVOIDS GHG INCREASE, BUT UNLIKELY TO MEET GOAL
While Canada's greenhouse gas emissions remained largely unchanged from 2009 to 2010, the nation will have difficulty meeting its 2020 target, according to government figures. The Conservative government said that its environmental plan "is working," hailing the fact that emissions remained stable at a 0.25% increase while the economy grew 3.2%. Canada's emission peaked in 2007, at 751 megatons, and fell to 692 in 2010. However, Canada has committed to cutting its emissions to 607 megatons by 2020, a target that will be difficult to meet as Alberta continues to increase its oilsands production. Critics have maintained that Canada is not on track to meet its goal. "We are still well off course for meeting our emissions target, and without a national plan we're likely to see Canada's emissions continue to grow," said P.J. Partington, a climate policy analyst at the Pembina Institute. Partington said that oilsand expansion is likely to cancel out any progress made, and Environment Canada said that the nation will only get 25% of the way to its goal. "This is not nation-building," said a Greenpeace spokesperson of fast tracked oilsands projects, "it is a program for climate and ultimately economic destruction." For the full story, see http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1159797--peter-kent-says-tory-plan-to-promote-economic-growth-and-protect-environment-is-working and http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/11/us-canada-emissions-idUSBRE83A19D20120411.