| The David Suzuki Foundation is calling a recent agreement between the federal government and automakers disappointing, and says the new measures won’t go far in helping Canada meet its Kyoto Protocol obligations.
On April 5, the federal government and automakers signed an agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5.3 megatonnes per year by 2010. Prior to the deal, greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles were projected to be 90.5 megatonnes by 2010, but with the deal in place, both parties are aiming for 85.2 megatonnes of emissions. The two parties have agreed to set up a joint monitoring committee that will release annual reports on the progress of the agreement.
Dale Marshall, a climate change policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation, says the government should have introduced legislation dictating exact fuel efficiency standards for all vehicles, which has been done in various other countries.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, Canada is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by six per cent of emissions in 1990. Marshall says emissions had increased by 20 per cent since 1990 as of 2002, when the last statistics were available. He says the new agreement will mean greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles will increase by 18 per cent from 1990 levels instead of 24 per cent, which was predicted prior to the agreement.
"I would call it fairly marginal," says Marshall. "Automobiles are being built more efficiently in Europe, Japan and Australia, so obviously it’s not a technology issue. It’s a political issue. The government has decided it’s not important to go further. I would say they let the industry off the hook again," he says.
Marshall says there have been advances in fuel efficiency in the last couple of decades, but that’s been offset by the rising popularity of SUVs and pickup trucks, which are exempt from minimum fuel efficiency standards and are notorious gas guzzlers.
Marshall says there should be more responsibility put on automakers to promote more fuel-efficient vehicles, but automakers love the SUVs and trucks, which are more expensive and provide bigger profit margins than smaller vehicles.
"It’s silly to think the people building, selling and promoting vehicles have no say in what is being bought," he says. "The people who are manufacturing these vehicles have to be held responsible for the impact of their use."
Marshall is cynical about whether the agreement will end up achieving the promised results because it’s voluntary and there are no punitive measures in place if it fails.
"It’s baffling and frustrating to see Canada is furthest from the (Kyoto) targets of all other countries (that signed on), but there’s no sense of urgency," says Marshall. "The vast majority of emissions come from industry and they’re being let off the hook… government is supposed to be acting in the public interest, but they’re not doing that."
Marshall points out that Australia and the U.S., both of which didn’t sign the Kyoto Protocol, are further ahead than Canada on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Meanwhile, the activist group Calgary Culture Jammers has begun a campaign against Ford. The group plans to deliver petitions to all Ford dealerships in Calgary asking them to lobby their head office for increased fuel efficiency. The group also held a protest on April 1 at Woodbridge Ford. The protest was part of an international campaign called "Jumpstart Ford" that aims to pressure the company to take action.
Jennifer Mathieson, one of the organizers, says the group held the protest in order to raise awareness about "Canada and the U.S.’s oil addiction." She says the campaign is targeting Ford because it’s the worst offender in not improving fuel efficiency.
"This is something people have to take seriously. It’s not just radical activists," says Mathieson. "We need Ford to become a partner and start creating more energy-efficient vehicles."
John Jelinek, vice-president of public affairs for Ford of Canada Inc., says his company is "committed to improving fuel economy and reducing emissions." He says the company has just delivered five Ford Focus Fuel Cell Vehicles to the Vancouver Fuel Cell Vehicle Program for testing, and the company has introduced some of the most fuel efficient vehicles in their class recently – the 2005 Escape, a hybrid SUV, has 50 per cent better fuel economy and 97 per cent fewer emissions than other SUVs. |
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