By Stephanie Froese
paNOW staff
The David Suzuki Foundation has placed Saskatchewan and Alberta as the highest greenhouse gas emitters in the country.
In its 2012 ‘All Over the Map’ report, the organization indicates that Saskatchewan tops the list at 71 tonnes per capita with Alberta following at just over 63 tonnes per capita.
“The leadership of the Saskatchewan government has really lagged behind other provinces in the country when it comes to addressing climate change,” said Ian Bruce, climate change specialist at the David Suzuki foundation.
While most of the other provinces showed fluctuations over the years, Saskatchewan has had little change since the same study was conducted four years ago.
“Certainly governments have the ability to make it easier for both citizens and companies to reduce their environmental footprint and to take initial leadership on the environment,” said Bruce.
The report lists only two strengths in which the province succeeds: a plan for more wind power and renewed funding for home energy-efficiency.
Weakness identified in the report include only 29 per cent of the province’s emissions are covered by proposed regulations, cuts to renewable energy programs and no plan to end reliance on coal-fired power.
“There’s been elimination of incentives for clean power which could be wind power or solar power technologies or even other ones,” said Bruce.
As for what Saskatchewan should be doing, the report suggests introducing a cap-and-trade system for heavy industry and creating a strong emission target.
“More incentives could be put into place in Saskatchewan to encourage the oil and gas companies to take responsible action and reduce their pollution levels as well,” said Bruce.
He added that Saskatchewan could learn from provinces like Ontario where programs and policies have been implemented resulting in just over 12 tonnes of greenhouse gasses per capita being produced.
Bruce said Manitoba, where there are more programs for farmers and other sectors to shift to cleaner energy, is also a good role model.
“One of the reasons we put this report out is so that provinces, cities and even citizen across the country can share some of the successes and solutions being used in different regions,” said Bruce.
He said there is a lot of potential for Saskatchewan to improve its ratings as the government has promised regulations for oil and gas companies but he said it is disappointing that they have yet to be enacted in the province.
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