Environment committee  Bramley's testimony, comparing the choices government has—between, say, a 1% reduction in GST and investments to combat climate change. Here is a question for Mr. Dillon. The government has promised to pay out approximately $1 billion for the pine beetle epidemic in British Columbia, in community restructuring.

Environment committee  To begin, I would like to say that I have been working in the field of climate change since 1999. I was not there when Canada's targets were set, but we heard Louise Comeau's testimony regarding the analysis which was carried out in the 1990s. So not only do we have the analysis Louise referred to, but there also was a national consultation process on climate change which took place in 1993 and 1994.

Environment committee  I would disagree with some of your characterizations. We don't argue about the importance of climate change. We totally agree with the importance of climate change and the importance of Canada doing something about it and being part of the international effort to so do. We do feel that way back when, Canada negotiated a set of targets and timelines without taking into account certain absolute facts, like the fact that at that particular time, Canada was at the beginning of an extensive expansion of its oil and gas, and particularly of its gas exports to the United States, which as you know, are counted in our targets, and that our economy was growing and so on.

Environment committee  The greenhouse gas emissions being put into the atmosphere now are going to have a growing impact over the next 20 to 30 years, so what we're experiencing in climate change right now has been impacted by greenhouse gas emissions growing over the last 20 to 30 years. Would you not agree with that? Where we are now is going to have a continuing impact on climate change.

Environment committee  You have, on the one hand, repeated, I hate to say this, the old canard--it's really stale--that there is much controversy surrounding the science around greenhouse gases, climate change effects, and human activities. It is on page 4. But then you urge us, in the spirit of despair, to get on with adaptation, because it's clear that no action will be enough to stop the effects of climate change; you can only slow down the changes.

Environment committee  You said that we may not necessarily have the means to achieve this, but can we afford not to act on climate change beginning today, given the costs contained in Mr. Stern's report and the other costs related to phenomena happening here in Canada?

Environment committee  The degree of adaptation that will be necessary will depend entirely on the extent to which we're able to slow the rate of climate change. So we can't consider one without the other. The fact that Bill C-288 is exclusively focused on a single paragraph in the Kyoto accord simply underscores the fact that there is a policy vacuum at the federal level and that we're not developing a comprehensive strategy for climate change.

Environment committee  The full equation of that on a climate change front is rather disastrous. Is it not, as suggested by former Premier Lougheed and even by Mr. Klein, up to government to play some sort of facilitating and cost accounting role?

Environment committee  An average of 5% renewable content would reduce GHG emissions by five megatonnes a year in the transportation sector, which is not a solution to all our climate change problems, obviously, but it is a measurable, tangible, practical step that we can take today that also has economic benefits both for our agriculture sector and our rural economy.

Environment committee  The life cycle approach enables us to establish, from the cradle to the grave, the costs incurred by production or for an activity, not only economic costs, but environmental costs as well. In the field of climate change, the guilty parties are rarely the first victims, which is an enormous problem as regards responsibility. That's why elements were put in place with regard to responsibility and fairness in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and in which an attempt is being made to apply the precautionary principle.

Environment committee  The second is a comprehensive strategy that not only would deal with Canada participating in international efforts to reduce emissions, but also include an adaptive strategy. Adaptation is the only response available to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change over the next several decades before the mitigative measures take effect. Thank you.

Environment committee  But one other thing that I think is very important and hasn't come out with climate change is the likelihood of mental disorder or behavioural problems in children. I see this when we have the predictions of drought in the prairie provinces, lack of water. Even without the drought there's going to be a lack of water.

Environment committee  I had two points, if I could be brief. On the climate change question, Mr. Glover mentioned the link between climate change and air pollution, but I'd like to re-emphasize that. What you do to control the emission of greenhouse gases is probably going to result in a concomitant reduction in the release of traditional air pollutants into the atmosphere.

Environment committee  Let me clarify. I don't mean climate change models; I mean more of a business case model. Where would the components likely come from? What would the implications be? The committee hasn't really looked at that yet. We understand and we're supportive of the 2012 targets.

Environment committee  When the government announces drastic cuts like these to environmental programs that were tackling climate change, and I'm thinking of the EnerGuide program, the one-tonne challenge—I guess that was being run out of NRCan as well, although I'm not sure, and maybe you could clarify that—what role or say does Environment Canada have?