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Climate Change Programme

Climate change is one of the most serious environmental challenges facing the planet. Excessive burning of fossil fuels is leading to climate change impacts that could have serious negative affects for freshwater supply, food production, coastline communities and wildlife habitats as well as human health and economic development. There is a global effort underway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Under the Kyoto Protocol, Canada’s target is to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 6% below 1990 levels, on average by 2008-2012. Scientists estimate that the global community will need to reduce its emissions by about 25-30% by 2020 and by more than 50% by 2050 in order to avoid the most dangerous impacts.

Pollution Probe’s Climate Change Programme activities are designed to help Canada achieve its current and future climate change targets. The following highlights some of these activities.

Renewable Energy

Canada needs to maximize its development of renewable sources of energy, such as wind, solar, small hydro, biomass and geothermal power. Pollution Probe has invested considerable effort in promoting the development of Green Power.

For the Green Power Project, Pollution Probe conducted a national workshop series on the potential for Green Power to meet Canada’s electricity needs, as well as provincial workshops. It has produced several publications including A Green Power Vision and Strategy for Canada and The Primer on the Technologies of Renewable Energy.

Pollution Probe has also developed "A Consumer Guide to Green Power in Canada", a web-based guide for consumers who are interested in purchasing Green Power to meet their electricity needs and supporting its development.

Forest Carbon Management

Some approaches to forest management can remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Pollution Probe convened a series of national workshops, in 2001-2002, to help determine how this could be achieved in Canada. The workshops were followed by an initiative to develop a set of pilot projects on forest carbon management.

Other Climate Change Activity

• Climate Change and Human Health – Pollution Probe has worked in partnership with health organizations to explore the relationship between climate change and human health and produced A Primer on Climate Change and Human Health.
• Emissions Trading – Emissions trading offers a more cost-effective approach to dealing with pollution, if it is supported by a good regulatory framework. Pollution Probe has done considerable work in evaluating the use of this tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants, and has produced the Emissions Trading Primer.
• Greenhouse Gas Reporting Systems – Pollution Probe has been actively engaged in the development of standards for greenhouse gas reporting systems at the international and national levels.