Harper, et. al. To Release "New" Canadian Climate Plan In October

[hatrack]

Can't wait.

The Conservatives will announce a sweeping environment strategy in October to cut smog, greenhouse emissions and to clean up toxic hot spots. Tentatively dubbed Green Plan II, it will include a Clean Air Act with long-term targets and new money for national parks, sources told The Canadian Press yesterday.

It's being touted as the most wide-ranging program of its kind since former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announced his $3 billion Green Plan in 1991. The strategy will include a clean water framework, a clean technology strategy, regulation of toxic chemicals and new measures to clean up contaminated sites, said a source who has been briefed on its contents.

The environmental assessment process is also expected to be revamped. There will be a new health index for air quality, similar to the ozone index which measures the risk from ultraviolet solar radiation, said another source who spoke on condition of anonymity.

But there won't be new taxes to discourage the use of fossil fuels, and the key issue of what to do about the Kyoto Protocol is still undecided. Funding figures are not determined. They are expected to be less than Mulroney's plan which provided $3 billion over five years.

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