Mr. Speaker, on March 3 I asked the Minister of Natural Resources, in connection with the issue of climate change, what she plans to do to meet both our carbon dioxide reduction commitments under the climate change convention signed in Rio and the carbon dioxide reductions promised in the red book.
It is acknowledged that voluntary efforts to control carbon dioxide emissions are insufficient and that Canada, unfortunately, will not stabilize emissions by the year 2000 or meet the red book commitment to reduce emissions 20 per cent by the year 2005.
We have a long way to go and the climate change problem is getting more and more serious. For example, the Mackenzie valley impact study completed in 1996 measured the impact of climate change on that valley. It predicts lower water levels in northern lakes, increased thawing of the permafrost and the likelihood of increased forest fires.
These changes have not gone unnoticed by Canadians. A recent poll by Inside Canada Research found the vast majority of Canadians surveyed were increasingly concerned about the government's inability to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and to meet its international commitments to stabilize greenhouse gases at 1990 levels by the year 2000.
Therefore, to resolve this problem, a growing international consensus seems to be emerging. It is felt that binding timelines are needed to ensure carbon dioxide emission reductions be achieved in future.
Not only has the voluntary approach to carbon dioxide reductions proven to be insufficient, the Department of Natural Resources now estimates that we will be 9 per cent above stabilization by the year 2000. While emissions continue to grow, we make it more difficult to resolve them with new tax incentives for the production of oil from tar sands, an extraction, as members know, that produces 10 times more carbon dioxide per comparable unit of energy than crude oil from conventional light sources.
What are the answers? They are not easy but they are necessary. First energy efficiency and conservation programs need to be implemented. Well researched programs were released last fall which outline the benefits gained through energy efficient retrofitting of commercial, institutional and residential buildings. Retrofitting is a labour intensive enterprise that pays good dividends by creating more jobs per dollar invested than conventional energy production. Consequently, this makes Canadian industries more competitive.
Second, our large reserves of natural gas allow Canada to shift gradually to natural gas which emits less carbon dioxide than petroleum.
Finally, we have renewable sources of energy which are badly in need of being given a further boost by government. Over time renewable sources of energy and natural gas could become the backbone of the energy industry of the future.
Against this background I ask the parliamentary secretary whether the minister intends to take new measures to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in Canada. If so, what will they be? On the international scene will Canada move to support the European Union's position, which now calls for a greenhouse gas reduction of 15 per cent by the year 2010?
I appreciate the fact the parliamentary secretary might wish to reply tomorrow.