MEDIA RELEASE - NOV. 19, 2009

Build Ontario economic recovery by leading global warming action
Action to address climate change can help province prosper

Toronto - As the eyes of the world turn to the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Ontario must be ready with a strong carbon cap-and-trade plan that will reduce global warming pollution and make the province competitive in a world where action on climate change is the new bottom line, say 23 of the province’s environmental organizations.

 

“Ontario will see real economic benefits from tackling climate change. The province should act quickly to develop an effective and efficient cap-and-trade program with its partners in the Western Climate Initiative and Quebec to encourage investments in clean energy and efficiency,” points out Rick Smith, executive director of Environmental Defence.

 

 The 23 groups have released an action agenda for Ontario that will help the province meet its greenhouse gas reduction targets, create new economic opportunities and build stronger, more economically resilient communities throughout the province. 

 

“Climate action can be the cornerstone of the province’s efforts to build an economic recovery,” points out Cherise Burda, director, Ontario Energy Solutions, for the Pembina Institute.  An economic modelling study commissioned by the Pembina Institute and David Suzuki Foundation found, for example, that Ontario could create over a million net new jobs and grow its economy by over 20% in the next decade while doing its fair share of the emission reduction efforts  needed to  tackle global warming.

 

 “By fully implementing the Green Energy Act and retiring the Pickering B nuclear facility, protecting our boreal forest, improving access to sustainable local food, reducing air pollution and curbing urban sprawl, we can demonstrate that action on climate change will be rewarded with good green jobs,” adds Bruce Cox, executive director of Greenpeace.  

 

“The science around the growing threat posed by climate change is overwhelming.  We are stepping into dangerously unstable territory and we need to get back on safe ground by getting our polluting emissions under control while also preparing for the changes we know are already underway,” says Justin Duncan, staff lawyer of Ecojustice. 

 

That will require new approaches to everything from urban land use and protecting the waters of the Great Lakes to  habitat and endangered species protection and waste reduction say the groups as they urge the province to take a wide ranging approach to protecting the environment and addressing the impacts of climate change.

 

“Just around the corner is a world where wasteful practices will be increasingly costly and efficiency will be richly rewarded.  When oil prices hit triple digits once again and it is no longer free to dump greenhouse gas pollutants into the atmosphere, it is the places that have gotten smart about reducing their environmental impact and developing new approaches that will survive – and thrive,” says Franz Hartmann, executive director of the Toronto Environmental Alliance.

 

The 23 environmental groups will present their annual Priorities Platform to all parties and the government as lead issues to tackle in the next 12 months. A full description of the environmental priorities endorsed by the 23 groups is available at www.GreenProsperity.ca (en Francais www.prosperiteverte.ca) .

 

For further information or to arrange interviews, contact:

Brad Cundiff
Green Living Communications
416-535-0205
brad@glcommunications.ca

 

The groups endorsing this initiative are:  Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, Canadian Environmental Law Association, Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy, Citizen's Environment Alliance, Community Power Fund,  Conservation Council of Ontario, David Suzuki Foundation, Earthroots, Ecojustice, Environment North, Environmental Defence, Forest Ethics, Great Lakes United, Greenpeace, Local Food Plus, Ontario Nature, Ontario Smart Growth Network, Ontario Sustainable Energy Association,  Pembina Institute, Sierra Club Ontario, Toronto Environmental Alliance, Wildlands League, World Wildlife Fund.