Location: Ministry Home > News > Minister's Speeches > Speech

Notes for remarks

by

The Honourable Laurel Broten
Minister of the Environment

The United Nations Conference on Climate Change (Montreal, PQ)
“Climate Change and Doing the Right Thing”

Canadian Heartland Reception

Delta Centre-Ville, Montreal, PQ
Wednesday, December 7, 2005

(Check against delivery)

Hello, Bon Soir, everyone and thanks for joining us here this evening.

J’ai l’honneur de me joindre à ma collègue – la ministre de l’Énergie de l’Ontario, Donna Cansfield – pour souhaiter la bienvenue à nos invités de marque à cette réception aujourd’hui.

I’m pleased to be here with my colleague – Ontario’s Minister of Energy, Donna Cansfield – to welcome all of you.

And a special thanks to Michael Gerbis of the Delphi Group for including us.

What a galvanizing event this is! Representatives from close to 200 countries from around the globe have come together to address one of the largest challenges our planet faces.

Wherever you’re from, wherever you may call home, you know the reality well: we need to move quickly, collectively and expeditiously on climate change for the sake of the future, our families, our children.

There is no question in my mind that climate change is a real threat to the sustainability of our way of life, that we are contributing to the problem and that we have a responsibility to address it.

Il n’y a aucun doute pour moi que le changement climatique menace véritablement notre mode de vie, que nous contribuons au problème et que nous avons la responsabilité de contribuer aux efforts déployés pour trouver une solution.

Climate change demands a shared responsibility. Yes, this is a global issue, but it’s a personal one, as well. Each of us has a moral imperative to play our part.

Of course, we’re all aware that there are critics of the Kyoto protocol and some that question the science behind climate change. These critics need to wake up. In my view, there is no time to waste. It is government’s role to raise the bar high, to set standards that will effectively encourage change. As a society, we have no choice.

For instance, many critics have said that taking on climate change will require a massive adjustment in the way we live and do business.

Has it ever been any other way? When has the status quo ever been acceptable? Business, above anyone else, should understand that.

What we build, where we live, how we get our fuel and energy – these have changed many times in our history. And they will change again. Will they do so for the better or for the worse?

Ce que nous construisons, les lieux où nous vivons, la manière dont nous obtenons notre carburant et notre énergie – tout cela a changé bien des fois au cours de l’histoire. Et cela changera encore. Mais est-ce que ce sera en mieux ou en pire?

By taking real action on climate change, in 50 years our economy could be dramatically altered, and that could be a very good thing.

Potentially, we could have an economy based on clean and renewable fuels, on zero-emission transportation, on energy-efficient homes and businesses. Actions to address climate change won’t destroy the economy; they will replace it with something better.

We know that people like you -- business and government leaders alike -- are listening. And just like most people, we all want to do the right thing. We’re not actively resisting change: we just don’t all know how to change, or why we should.

Globally, we need to be “sensitized” to environmental issues. My government is not afraid to do the right thing for the province and for the future. We are closing all of our coal-fired electricity plants. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in our province by 30 mega tonnes a year. We shut the first plant down this year and we will close the last one by 2009.

This was a tough decision but we knew it had to be done.

5,800 Ontarians die every year from illness related to air pollution. Childhood asthma rates have skyrocketed in recent years. Air pollution incurs $3.4 billion dollars a year in health and environmental costs in Ontario.

Coal will be replaced by a mix of cleaner and renewable energy, and help create a more competitive energy market. And one thing is certain: the marketplace will demand clean technologies in time.

Above all else, people will put their families first. Today, many people are willing to pay more for a car with a reputation for safety. Will they do the same for a car that is cleaner? I know I did! I recently bought a hybrid vehicle. That’s because I was thinking about my family which includes newborn twins for whom I want a cleaner, greener future.

In Ontario, we are shifting away from the old rules that stifled innovation. We have strengthened our air emissions standards… we have set new emissions caps on our largest industrial sectors... And we have introduced environmental penalties so there’s a financial incentive for preventing spills.

We also have a new regulation that requires gasoline in the province to contain five per cent ethanol starting in 2007. And to we’re investing more than half a billion dollars over 12 years to develop Ontario’s ethanol industry.

We can work with industry to make the manufacturing process the greenest in the world. And we can educate consumers about choosing the products they buy and the services they use.

In Ontario, we are addressing our domestic emissions of air pollution and greenhouse gases. We are also looking to our neighbours to do their share, to protect our health and to preserve our future.

It is no coincidence that the most prosperous jurisdictions are also those with the highest environmental standards. The two must stay linked as we work towards a more sustainable future.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy addressed the United Nations and said, “We have the power to make this the best generation of mankind in the history of the world -- or to make it the last.”

I’d like to make “our generation” the best. Together, we’ll make it work.

Thank you.

Je voudrais vous remercier, tous et toutes, d’être venus à Montréal. Je vous souhaite un agréable séjour dans cette belle ville.

- end -