Renewable Energy Conf Begins in Ottawa

["Greenbase" <greenbas@gb.greenpeace.org>]

Renewable energy conference begins in Ottawa
Greenpeace calls on McLellan to "get real" about clean energy 

(OTTAWA - April 14, 1997) Greenpeace  called on Energy Minister
Anne McLellan today to dramatically expand the federal
government's renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives.
The call comes as Canada's renewable energy industries gather in
Ottawa today and tomorrow to discuss ways to shift federal
attention and funding away from oil and nuclear megaprojects
towards clean energy. McLellan is scheduled to address the
renewable energy conference tonight.

"It's time for Anne McLellan to get real about clean energy,"
Greenpeace energy campaigner Kevin Jardine said. He noted that
Canada is the highest per capita consumer of energy in the
industrial world, and is far behind in promoting renewable energy
technologies: "While thousands of wind turbines multiply in the
U.S. and the European Union, and Germany and Japan construct still
more thousands of solar-powered homes, Canada remains stuck in the
Alberta tar sands."

A heavy reliance on oil and gas is making it impossible to meet
Canada's commitment to cut its greenhouse gas emissions, which have
instead risen 9.5 percent between 1990 and 1995, Jardine pointed
out. "Without immediate action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
Canada faces massive forest fires, large floods like those in the
Saguenay last year and the prairies this coming spring," he warned.


The current federal programs, supervised by McLellan, focus largely
on a small portion of the government's own operations: - Only about
5 percent of federal buildings are currently
scheduled to be renovated through the Federal Buildings
Initiative;
- The only proposals announced through the Green Power
Procurement  program have been a few megawatts for Natural
Resources Canada and  Environment Canada buildings, with the only
immediate implementation  likely in Alberta. Much larger federal
energy consuming departments,  such as the Department of National
Defence, have made no commitments.  

Jardine placed the blame for federal inaction squarely on the
shoulders of Prime Minister Chretien and Minister McLellan:  "Anne
McLellan continues to aggressively promote new oil projects that
produce millions of tonnes of new greenhouse gases, and the Prime
Minister is backing her up." 

In order to "green" the government's own operations, Jardine said,
Prime Minister Chretien should require: 
 - all federal departments to analyze all cost-effective energy
efficiency measures within one year, and implement them within two
years;
- all federal departments to purchase at least 20 percent of their
electricity consumption from sustainable renewable energy sources
such as solar and wind. 

In addition, the federal government should launch a major effort to
ensure that other levels of government and corporations set similar
targets. "Voluntary measures with no targets and
timetables simply don't work," Jardine said. "They don't even work
inside the federal government itself." Jardine added that these
measures should be announced before governments around the world
gather in Kyoto, Japan, later this year to consider
mandatory further reductions in greenhouse gases after the year
2000.  Contact Kevin Jardine in Ottawa  cell: 416-451-9354) or Mary
MacNutt  (416-597-8408).