Thanks, Tom.
With respect to renewable fuels specifically, we're currently behind the U.S. and Europe in the production and use of these fuels. These are fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. On average, only about 0.5%, half a percent of our transportation fuels, is renewable at this time, although this is expected to increase to about 2% on average over the next year. Other jurisdictions, such as the U.S. and European Union, have set aggressive targets in this regard—5.75% for the European Union by 2010 and approximately 4% for the U.S. by 2012.
The government has announced its intention to require a 5% average renewable content in our fuels by 2010. This would represent a tenfold increase over the current level of 0.5%. Natural Resources Canada, Environment Canada, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are working closely on this initiative.
Work is under way with the provinces as well. In late May, federal, provincial, and territorial ministers met to discuss this subject in a dedicated meeting and to discuss the path forward. The interdepartmental and intergovernmental approach is critical, because of the complexity of this file. The work is looking at considerations that span the value chain from the feedstock production, the production of the inputs—the grain or other inputs to the renewable fuels—to the biofuel production itself, to the fuel distribution and the changes to the fuel distribution network that will be required, and the end use or the interaction with vehicles, and to the environmental impacts on a life-cycle basis. Stakeholders from across this value chain are being consulted in this process.
With respect to next steps, further consultations with stakeholders will be taking place over the course of the summer. In addition, federal-provincial-territorial meetings with respect to agriculture, energy, and environment are scheduled for June, August, and September respectively. In addition, another dedicated meeting of federal, provincial, and territorial ministers is envisioned for November.