VANCOUVER, March 13, 2013 /CNW/ - Canada's Environment Minister, the Honourable Peter Kent, spoke to the Vancouver Board of Trade today about the Government of Canada's initiatives to strengthen environmental protection.
"The value of our environment and its significance are well understood by the Harper Government," said Minister Kent. "We recognize that conservation and environmental protection are very important to well-being of all Canadians."
Minister Kent outlined the Government of Canada's commitment to ensuring that Canadians have access to a healthy environment. The Government of Canada is committed to protecting the environment, and has backed up that commitment by taking a number of measures. For example, we are:
- Implementing regulations to reduce greenhouse gases from coal-fired electricity plants, which will reduce greenhouse gases by 214 megatonnes over the period 2015-2035. We expect that every coal-fired plant in Canada that uses traditional technology will eventually be closed, with the first plants closing in the next few years.
- Implementing regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty vehicles that will see emissions from 2018 vehicles reduced by up to 23 percent.
- Consulting on regulations that will see greenhouse gases from cars and light trucks fall by 50 percent by 2025.
- Implementing regulations requiring 5 percent renewable fuel in gasoline.
Through sound science, strong leadership, and productive partnerships, the Government of Canada has also advanced initiatives towards protecting and increasing land conservation, and protecting endangered species.
These initiatives include the proposed designation of the Scott Islands marine National Wildlife Area, and the proposed Southern Strait of Georgia National Marine Conservation Area Reserve.
SOURCE: Environment Canada
Mary Ann Dewey-Plante
Director of Media Relations
Office of the Minister of the Environment
819-997-1441
Media Relations
Environment Canada
819-934-8008
Environment Canada's Twitter page: http://twitter.com/environmentca
Environment Canada's Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/environmentcan
(Également offert en français)
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