2009/11/23 Addressing Climate and Energy Policy Across the Border Press

Addressing Climate and Energy Policy Across the Border

Maine-based Group to Testify before Parliament of Canada
 

For Immediate Release
November 23, 2009
Contact: Emily Avery-Miller, External Relations Manager (207) 236-6470

ROCKPORT, ME -- ENE (Environment Northeast), a non-profit environmental research and advocacy group specializing in sustainable energy policy, climate change solutions and forest carbon issues, is one of three U.S. based organizations to be invited to brief a House of Commons Standing Committee on key climate change issues on November 24, 2009. National and international attention to energy and climate matters is providing increasing opportunity to advance solutions beyond the northeast state borders. Energy & Climate Policy Director, Derek Murrow, will deliver testimony and answer questions on climate policy design and process in the U.S.

“States and regions have been leaders in moving forward on climate and energy solutions. As the federal governments in the United States and Canada take on this challenge, there is a pressing need to adopt policies that reduce carbon emissions in both countries, while promoting clean energy trades, sound forest carbon practices and common carbon market rules.  The outcomes of these policy decisions will be instrumental in affecting national and regional capacity to implement climate change solutions,” said ENE Executive Director, Dan Sosland.

The opportunity to testify before the federal panel is the latest development in ENE’s longstanding effort to advocate global warming solutions in a bioregional context, recognizing that pollution and energy trade issues do not stop along political borders. Advocacy and outreach across the U.S./Canada border has been a priority for ENE since it began work in 1998.  ENE’s Canada-based staff and office provide a unique window into cross-border policy issues. ENE has briefed federal and provincial policy makers and staff, and has been a presenter at national and regional meetings and conferences, including the annual gathering of New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers. ENE’s expertise on energy and climate issues on both sides of the border led to the invitation to participate in Tuesday’s meeting in Ottawa.

The Parliament of Canada’s House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development is convening the international panel of experts as part of their background study on a proposed national climate bill, “An Act to ensure Canada assumes its responsibilities in preventing dangerous climate change.” The bill would set science-based targets for greenhouse gas emissions levels and institute accountability standards nationwide.

As a leading environmental stakeholder in the design and implementation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) currently involved in intensive work in Washington, D.C., and an established presence in Canadian advocacy efforts, ENE is uniquely well-positioned to provide the panel with relevant information. ENE’s testimony will include an up-close take on how cap and trade policy has worked in the northeast states, proposals and outlook for policy at the federal level, and key innovations and challenges that have arisen in U.S. climate policy development.

Others participating in the international panel include representatives of the World Resources Institute and Pew Center on Global Climate Change.  The British High Commissioner and the Head of the European Union Delegation for Canada also briefed the panel on policy experience in Europe. The Committee also invited briefings from academia, business and sciences as part of their study. The Committee’s goal is to complete its study and amendments in order to re-introduce the bill to Parliament by the end of the year.

Live coverage of the meeting starting at 11:00 am (EST) on Tuesday, November 24, can be found online: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/CommitteeBusiness/CommitteeMeetings.aspx?Cmte=ENVI&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=40&Ses=2