Ethanol and Biodiesel in Canada: Can They Help Meet Canada's Kyoto Commitment?
The Canadian government ratified the Kyoto Protocol in December 2002. The protocol calls for greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced by 6 percent below the 1990 level (approximately 35 percent below what they are expected to be in a business-as-usual situation) by 2008â€“2012. To help meet this target, both federal and provincial governments in Canada have developed programs (in some cases mandates) for ethanol and biodiesel production and use in fuel blends. Various subsidy schemes have been designed to stimulate development of a biofuels industry in Canada. While the programs have been promoted on the basis of environmental concerns, a major driver has been the search for new markets for Canadian agricultural commodities that face chronically depressed prices. The purposes of this article are to review the current state of policies, programs and production of ethanol and biodiesel in Canada and to assess the prospect of these biofuels to significantly reduce production of greenhouse gases in Canada.
Climate change plan for Canada : tax policy and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
Climate change is now recognized as a serious area of environmental concern for all nations. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted. The Kyoto Protocol requires 37 industrialized nations to achieve G H G emissions reduction by 2012. The federal government created the Climate Change Plan for Canada in 2002 to establish parameters for fulfilling Canada's obligations to reduce G H G emissions) pursuant to the Kyoto
[The precautionary principle and the environment].
The precautionary principle is a response to uncertainty in the face of risks to health or the environment. In general, it involves taking measures to avoid potential harm, despite lack of scientific certainty. In recent years it has been applied, not without difficulties, as a legal and political principle in many countries, particularly on the European and International level. In spite of the controversy, the precautionary principle has become an integral component of a new paradigm for the creation of public policies needed to meet today's challenges and those of the future.