Greenhouse gas emissions in Canada will be allowed to grow under the Conservative environmental plan, but at a slower pace, Environment Minister Rona Ambrose asserted yesterday.

Canada’s position as a growing energy exporter means emissions will also be on the rise for the short term, she said, but the government’s long-term plan is to reduce them through new technology and the use of “intensity-based” targets.

In effect, the government is betting that a combination of technological change and economic growth will meet Ottawa’s goals of greenhouse gas reduction.

Opponents were not convinced. Environmentalist Matthew Bramley, an expert on the Kyoto accord and climate change with the Pembina Institute, said the plan won’t meet Canada’s Kyoto targets.


In June, Environment Canada released a massive amount of data detailing industrial greenhouse emissions from all facilities that emit more than 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas.

The rankings find Ontario Power Generation, which relies heavily on coal power, to be the company emitting the most greenhouse gas in Canada. Among the provinces, Alberta emitted the most greenhouse gas, at 109.5 million tonnes, followed by Ontario at 77.3 million tonnes.

Cement manufacturing is said to be responsible for five per cent of such total emissions