Phil Duffy & James Hrynyshyn
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (May 16/01) - The NWT pumps out less than one per cent of Canada's climate-changing greenhouse gases, but Northerners have a role to play in helping the country meet its international environmental obligations.
Just about everyone at Monday night's public consultation meeting for the NWT Greenhouse Gas Strategy could agree on that much. But whether the political will exists remains up for debate.
More than 40 people, members of the public along with representatives from government agencies and environmental organizations met at the Chateau Nova to discuss how the territory can reduce the emissions responsible for global climate change. It was the largest turnout so far of a series of meetings in the NWT.
Scientists estimate the NWT's share of emissions is about 0.5 per cent of Canada's total. Within the NWT, only 15 per cent comes from industry. The lion's share is the result of electricity, home heating and transportation.
Fortunately, hydro-electricity produces about 70 per cent of the NWT's power needs" said James Sparling, energy programs co-ordinator with the territorial Environmental Protection Service.
The rest of the communities use electricity generated from diesel-fired generators, he said. "These people depend heavily on their power and heating systems, especially during winter, and they can't have their electricity or hydro failing in sub-zero weather."
Fossil fuel combustion releases carbon dioxide, which is the main cause of the greenhouse effect. The United States releases the most carbon dioxide of any country, and Canada isn't too far behind.
The federal government has announced more than $1 billion in funding for emissions-reduction program, for those jurisdictions that can prove they are making a serious effort. The NWT strategy, which was the subject of Monday's meeting, is a tentative first step toward that end.
Many members of the audience, however, questioned the commitment from both territorial and federal governments to serious emission reductions.
Veteran Yellowknife environmentalist Chris O'Brien of Ecology North pointed out that both governments, while officially supportive of reducing emissions, are actively promoting development of the fossil-fuel industry. "Where's the thinking to get beyond that kind of conflict?" he asked.
Others, including Tasha Stephenson of Alternatives North, wanted to know why recent projects, such as the BHP and Diavik mines, were granted approval without a requirement to generate at least some of their energy from renewable sources, in stead of relying entirely on trucked-in diesel fuel.
Public feedback from the consultations will be used to revise the NWT's greenhouse gas strategy within three years.
