Manitoba Climate Change Task Force - International Institute for ...

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Executive Summary Climate change poses a particular challenge to Manitoba due to the diversity, magnitude and volatility of its impacts. At the same time, the global economy of the future will be increasingly based on the development of clean and renewable energy. Manitoba is well positioned to benefit from this trend. Action is urgently needed, however, to ensure that Manitoba is able to respond to the challenges ahead and take advantage of emerging opportunities. In March 2001, Premier Gary Doer and Conservation Minister Oscar Lathlin established an eight-member task force to examine the challenges and opportunities for Manitoba posed by climate change. The information and recommendations contained in this report are meant to provide a basis from which the government of Manitoba will develop its climate change action plan. Climate change has become synonymous with increasingly dramatic and unprecedented flooding, fires, drought and severe weather conditions. It is already altering the landscape of Manitoba’s agricultural regions and forests, impacting on people’s lives as they begin to adapt to its effects. Task force members were concerned by the extent of climate change that has already become evident in Manitoba, and is particularly affecting northern and rural communities. They found that Manitoba’s system of winter roads, for instance, is under threat from warmer temperatures. At the same time, the task force noted recent impacts on agriculture and the projections for unpredictable and variable weather conditions. Those who made presentations to the task force emphasized that action on climate change is needed now and called upon the government of Manitoba to take a leadership role among the provinces. They recognized that mitigation efforts, involving real reductions in greenhouse gases, are required in conjunction with adaptation strategies. Through its public consultations, the task force learned that, although there is a small, active community working on the issue of climate change, greater public understanding of its implications is essential. 1
2 MCCTF Report 2001 — Manitoba and Climate Change: Investing in our future The task force makes several recommendations, including: • Crafting a provincial energy policy that demands the development of renewable and alternative energy options, maximizing the energy sector’s potential as an economic development tool, especially in the areas of hydro, biofuels and hydrogen; • Conducting a review of the Manitoba Hydro Act to determine how the utility should participate in the province’s energy future, recognizing that it is the key energy provider in the province; • Introducing an expanded grants and interest rate incentive program by Manitoba Hydro to encourage energy efficiency, building on its successful PowerSmart program; • Defining the climate change components that must be addressed as fundamental issues in the establishment of a continental energy policy with the United States and Mexico; • Undertaking research and analysis in Manitoba with a focus on local and prairie regional effects of climate change; • Establishing a northern strategic initiative that addresses crucial issues, including the shipping season for the port of Churchill, winter roads and employment opportunities affected by climate change; • New measures that would provide incentives for alternative fuels and funding for transit, including support for special initiatives such as the South West Transit Corridor; and, • Initiating comprehensive education, outreach and training programs to raise the public’s climate change awareness, integrating consideration of the issue into the curricula of the educational system and establishing a Manitoba climate change information hub. The report points out that real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions must be achieved. It calls on the Manitoba government to provide leadership by example, by introducing several measures, such as using ethanol-blended gasoline for its vehicle fleet and retrofitting government buildings, to demonstrate its climate change commitment. The report explains the importance to Manitoba of establishing an international or regional North American regime for carbon emissions trading. Manitoba is
Page 1 and 2: Report of the Manitoba Climate Chan
Page 3 and 4: Manitoba Climate Change Task Force
Page 5: The Manitoba Climate Change Task Fo
Page 9 and 10: 1. Introduction 4 MCCTF Report 2001
Page 11 and 12: 2. Climate Change and Manitoba 6 MC
Page 13 and 14: 8 MCCTF Report 2001 — Manitoba an
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Page 29 and 30: 3. What the Public Said 24 MCCTF Re
Page 35 and 36: 4. Guiding Principles 30 MCCTF Repo
Page 37 and 38: 5. Strategic Direction and Recommen
Page 53 and 54: 6. Organizing for Success 48 MCCTF
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Climate Model • A quantitative wa
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Kyoto Mechanisms • Mechanisms est
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Appendix 2 - Terms of Reference The
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Thompson (June 13, 2001): Dave Neuf
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Appendix 5 - Members, Staff and Adv
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Appendix 6 - Task Force Letter to P
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