TYLER IRVING: On Monday, BC Premier Gordon Campbell spoke to representatives of the province’s Independent Power Producers Association to reassure them that his government is committed to supporting green power development. However, his plans are attracting criticism on a number of fronts.

Campbell has been quite vocal about his intention to make BC a centre of green energy. To accomplish this, he has enacted a plan that will see BC Hydro buy more energy from independent renewable producers. These companies are largely wind power or controversial “run-of-river” projects, which withdraw water from mountain streams to run turbines.

Critics say that buying large amounts of privately produced power will drive up the cost of electricity. They were given encouragement by the BC Utilities Commission, which in July ruled that the government’s energy plan was not in the public interest, and that BC has enough generation capacity without buying large amounts of private power. Meanwhile, environmental activists worry that diverting mountain streams will have negative impacts on salmon runs.

Campbell has overruled the Utilities Commission and is forging ahead with his plan. At the meeting, he announced the creation of four government task forces that will study everything from carbon markets to electricity pricing to community engagement. The task forces will report to a new parliamentary committee which Campbell himself will chair. He expects the first reports to be delivered by January. As for BC Hydro itself, on Wednesday its long-time CEO Bob Elton stepped aside, leaving the organization leaderless at a time when it is facing sweeping changes in policy. [ index ]

DYLAN JERVIS: Auditor General Sheila Fraser released an audit on Tuesday that points the finger at the federal government for failing to enforce environmental regulations on First Nations reserve. Specifically, the audit notes that garbage often is not dumped in licensed landfill sites, and that there is no monitoring of water and air quality. Whereas in most places in the country, municipal and provincial governments oversee sewage and waste disposal, First Nations reserves are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government. However, Fraser’s report notes that the Indian and Northern Affairs Department has no idea how much solid waste is disposed of in 80 of the 135 reserves it directly oversees. One passage in the audit reads: “We found that the department neither promotes nor conducts significant surveillance on reserves to look for illegal dump sites or garbage burning and is not equipped to monitor compliance, conduct inspections, or enforce the regulations.” The audit also notes that fines are not stiff enough to prevent illegal dumping, and that there is not enough training to teach aboriginal people to manage their local environments or enforce the few rules that do apply. It further recommends that the Indian and Northern Affairs department close the regulatory gap and give aboriginal people more control over their local environment. [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: A report released last Friday by Hatch Management Consulting states that Ontario’s Green Energy Act could create $4.5 billion in value for the province. Most of that value will be realized by the companies that build renewable energy projects, but transmission companies and local distribution companies will also benefit.

The value will come from rules that guarantee renewable energy producers fixed prices for their electricity over a period of 20 years, as well as rules stating that new project proponents must source spend a significant proportion of their costs in Ontario.

While this is good news for the province’s battered job sector, the new projects can only go ahead if there is room in the Ontario electricity market for the new capacity. Furthermore, there is worrying evidence that some firms will be given special treatment. Last month, shortly after revealing the new rules, Energy Minister George Smitherman stipulated that a certain amount of the available capacity will be reserved for “renewable energy generating facilities whose proponents have signed a province-wide framework agreement with the Province.” Some think that is code for the Samsung group, who are in negotiations to set up a solar energy equipment manufacturing centre somewhere in southwestern Ontario. If the government is already bending the rules for its favourite projects, it could mean instability for other players in the market. [ index ]

DYLAN JERVIS: Federal Environment minister Jim Prentice traveled to Kangerlussuaq, Greenland on Friday to sign a Polar Bear conservation agreement. The agreement, between Canada, Nunavut, and Greenland almost slashes in half the number of bears able to be hunted in Nunavut from 105 per year, to less than 64 per year. This comes after Greenland has reduced its quota to 68 bears peryear. The “Memorandum of Understanding” between the three Governments addresses the Polar Bear hunt in the hunting areas shared by all parties, including Baffin Bay and Kane Basin. The agreement follows a National Roundtable on polar bears held earlier this year by Minister Prentice about how best to protect Canada’s 15,500 strong polar bear population. At the meeting, the need to form an agreement on managing shared polar bear subpopulations was identified as a high priority.  [ index ]

TYLER IRVING: On Monday, the government of Ontario revealed the design of the new green license plates it will start granting to owners of hybrid or electric vehicles next year. The plates feature green lettering on a white background with a picture of a trillium in the middle. The design was selected in an online vote between four possible choices. It received 47 percent of the 14,000 votes cast.

In addition to making fuel efficient cars more visible, the plates will entitle the bearers to a number of benefits. These will include the ability to take advantage of charging stations at GO Transit and other provincially operated parking lots, as well as reserved parking at the University of Toronto and some private companies, including Walmart Canada. They will also be able to access High Occupancy Vehicle lanes even if they are only carrying the driver.

Transport minister Jim Bradley says that the Ontario government wants one out of every 20 vehicles on Ontario’s be an electric vehicle by 2020. [ index ]

DYLAN JERVIS: The Ottawa citizen reports that some African Nations have expressed frustration at Canadian negotiators for delaying climate change progress talks in Barcelona, Spain. Mama Konate, the director of the West African country of Mali’s National Meteorological service and a negotiotator at the talks, finds Canada to be particularly silent, and not sufficiently active regarding problems with reducing emissions. African nations also staged a one-day protest at the Barcelona talks in response to the developed world’s refusal to make the deep cuts in CO2 emissions recommended by climate scientists. In the House of Commons, Environment Minister Jim Prentice defended Canada’s policies, arguing that these were the toughest international environmental negotiations that the nation had been involved in. Canada has currently set a target of reducing its emissions to roughly 1990 levels by 2020, though the Harper government has repeatedly delayed introducing regulations for this plan. In contrast, developing countries, which are also most affected by climate change, have called on the developed world to cut their emissions by 40% below 1990 levels by 2020. [ index ]

Naomi Jehlicka: Yesterday, the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works approved the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act on a vote of 11-1.
This bill provides for an economy-wide cap-and-trade carbon market.
It also aims to get tough on corporate pollution, create millions of jobs in the renewable energy sector, and reduce national dependency on foreign sources of energy.
Despite this victory for climate justice, the bill has a long way to go before it is placed in front of President Obama for signature or veto.
The legislation must first be debated, then passed by Congress, then passed by the House and Senate, and only then placed in front of President Obama, who has the power to either accept or reject the bill.
While an important step for America in the quest to reduce its environmental impact, the bill will most likely not be passed in time for the impending international climate change negotiations in Copenhagen this upcoming December.
The developments will be closely followed by the Green Majority in the months to come. [ index ]

Naomi Jehlicka: A report published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences lends evidence to the hypothesis that the glaciers on the largest mountain in Africa are melting due to climate change.
Scientists at Ohio State University predict that rising global temperatures could cause the glaciers on Africa’s highest peak to disappear within 25 years.
Through studying ice core samples, Dr. Thompson and his colleagues concluded that the glaciers are decreasing in size and thickness at accelerating rates, and that global warming is a major contributor to this happening.
The data collected by Dr. Thompson shows that 85 per cent of the ice that covered Kilimanjaro in 1912 melted by 2007, and that 26 per cent of the ice there in 2000 is now gone.
In addition to having an effect on the mountain’s biodiversity, the rapidly melting glaciers will also have a direct impact on the lives of people who make their homes near the base of the mountain.
The majestic glaciers draw between 30 to 40 thousand tourists each year and the government of Tanzania is wondering what will happen to the economy when the ice fields disappear and tourists come no more.
Curbing climate change is the only way to prevent the glaciers from melting into nonexistence, but this can only be accomplished through a strong and effective international climate change treaty. [ index ]

Naomi Jehlicka: On November the 3rd, delegates from all over the world met to discuss the status on Tiger protectionism at the 2009 Kathmandu Global Tiger Workshop.
The delegation of 250 experts, scientists and government officials found that immediate action is necessary to save the tigers from extinction.
To achieve this, the workshop urges the Convention on the International Trade for Endangered Species to implement a resolution related to tigers and to avoid financing development projects that adversely affect critical tiger habitats.
It also calls for increased protection against tiger poaching and trafficking in tiger parts.
As it stands, there are only about 3,200 tigers left in the wild and WWF’s goal is to double that number by 2022.
Implementing these measures is one way of getting there. [ index ]