Madam Speaker, as I said before, it is a pleasure to speak to Motion No. 287. In my role as the chair of the environment committee, I will not be supporting this motion.
First, I have to emphasize that collaborating with the United States is critical for Canada and we have begun important work with the Obama administration to this end. On this side of the House, we recognize and want to build on shared Canadian and U.S. principles on climate change. As the U.S. develops its national climate change policy, Canada will continue to look for opportunities for harmonization to ensure our policies are effective and that Canadian companies are in a strong position to compete in the North American marketplace.
The clean energy dialogue with the United States is a critical step in this collaboration. As everyone probably knows, Canada and the U.S. agreed to establish a clean energy dialogue to collaborate on the development of clean energy science and technologies that will reduce greenhouse gases and combat climate change. The foundations of the clean energy dialogue have been established and concrete steps toward its implementation are being taken. Three joint Canada-U.S. working groups have been formed and are expected to report on their progress this coming August.
The use of 1990 as a baseline for absolute targets as proposed in Motion No. 287 does not make any sense for Canada. Under the previous Liberal government, no action was taken from 1993 to 2006, making a 1990 base year impossible. As the leader of the Liberal Party admitted, the Liberals did not get the job done.
The important consideration is the real results that are achieved. Our plan will provide the right incentives to drive long-term transformational change.
Canada is not alone in using a more recent baseline year. The U.S. has signalled that it will use 2005 as a baseline year. Europe has announced that it will also use a 2005 baseline for its target starting at 2013. Australia proposed a 2000 baseline in its greenhouse gas regulations. There are good reasons for this and that is because we have much better information on these later base years.
We are moving forward with a balanced approach that will reduce greenhouse gases from all major sectors and sources of emissions and will seek to ensure environmental progress and economic prosperity. This is a long-term challenge that requires immediate action to reduce emissions and develop cleaner technologies.
The Government of Canada has made an ambitious yet realistic commitment to reducing Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions by 20% from 2006 levels by 2020, and 60% to 70% by 2050. Our approach is one that makes sense for Canada and we are working closely with the provinces and stakeholders as we move forward.
The Government of Canada's approach will achieve maximum emission reductions while taking into account the economic costs, including potential implications for our competitiveness and costs for Canadians. We want federal climate change regulations to work in tandem with tax policy, tariff policy, technology policy and other related policies to promote timely domestic investment.
We have taken significant action on this front. We have recently launched the clean energy fund, which will invest $1 billion over five years in clean energy research and demonstration projects. A significant portion of this will support large-scale carbon capture and storage demonstration projects. This is a key component of clean energy research and one in which Canada is a world leader.
Cleaner electricity generation is also crucial to achieving our targets. The electricity sector remains the single greatest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada and accounted for approximately 17% of Canada's total GHG emissions in 2006.
To address this, the Government of Canada has made a commitment to ensure that 90% of Canada's electricity needs are provided by non-emitting sources such as hydro, nuclear, clean coal or wind power by 2020. To reach this ambitious goal, our government will continue to provide support for biofuels, biomass, wind and other energy alternatives.
We are also working to reduce emissions from the sector by putting in incentives to phase out coal-fired facilities as they reach the end of their useful life and replace them with cleaner alternatives.
In addition, on April 1, we announced tough new regulations on the automotive sector to increase fuel economy, thus reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing emissions from cars and light trucks will have a significant impact. Transportation accounts for approximately one quarter of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions. Passenger cars and light duty trucks account for nearly half of that, contributing 12% of Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions.
I would also note that on May 18, President Obama adopted a similar approach to reduce automotive emissions in the United States.
We are also working to reduce emissions from a wide range of other industrial sectors, including iron and steel, pulp and paper, cement, oil and gas, and many more, building on the regulatory framework set out in the Turning the Corner plan of March 2008.
As part of our responsible approach, we are refining the regulatory framework in light of the economic downturn and these developments in the United States.
As members can tell, the government's approach is the right approach.
Motion No. 287, although well intended, is out of step with the United States, Australia and Europe. As Canadians, we want a global solution that reduces emissions and ensures we have a level playing field so that we protect Canadians jobs and Canadian businesses.