Canada Invests $1.1 Million in Climate Change Projects
EarthVision Environmental News
September 6, 2000
OTTAWA, September 6, 2000 - Sixteen innovative projects designed to reduce greenhouse gases are getting a $1.1 million boost from the Government of Canada's Climate Change Action Fund (CCAF).
In making the announcement, Environment Minister David Anderson and Natural Resources Minister Ralph Goodale said the Government of Canada's funding adds to the $2.1 million already committed by the projects' partners.
The projects encourage Canadians to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by providing a range of information and assistance, including:
employing twenty young people from B.C. to create six green energy solution models;
helping Toronto citizens to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions through interactive workshops and multimedia tools;
providing an action plan to help Quebec farm producers adapt to the effects of climate change; and
installing energy saving devices in Yukon and Whitehorse homes.
The three-year, $150 million Climate Change Action Fund was introduced in the 1998-99 federal budget. The $30 million Public Education and Outreach component funds projects that increase public awareness and understanding of climate change and provide Canadians with the information they need to take action. To date, the Government of Canada, through the CCAF, has committed more than $15 million to 111 Public Education and Outreach projects.
The Action Fund was recently extended for a further three years and additional funding announced in Budget 2000 to support the following climate change initiatives: science, impacts and adaptation; demonstration and deployment of technologies; public education and outreach and other foundation-building activities.
The 2000 Budget provided more than $600 million for investments in a number of critical areas. In addition to the renewal of the CCAF ($150 million), initiatives include $60 million to extend a number of energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, $100 million to establish the Sustainable Development Technology Fund, $125 million to establish the Green Municipal Enabling Fund and the Green Municipal Investment Fund, $15 million to expand the government's purchases of green power, $100 million for initiatives in developing countries, $15 million to join the World Bank's prototype carbon fund, and $60 million to enhance Canada's capability in climate science.
The Government of Canada noted it is working with other governments and Canadians this year to finalize a national climate change strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and work towards meeting Canada's targets under the Kyoto Protocol.