Minister of Environment, Energy and Forestry Jamie Ballem advanced Prince Edward Island’s position on key environmental issues during a discussion with the federal minister Tuesday.
Atlantic Ministers of the Environment met in Saint John, New Brunswick, with Federal Environment Minister Rona Ambrose. Each of the ministers had the opportunity to talk about priorities in their province. Joining the meeting by conference call, Minister Ballem used the time to focus on climate change.
“Other than the northern regions of the country, Prince Edward Island is probably seeing the most visible impacts of climate change from shoreline erosion and rising sea level to severe storm events experienced in recent years,” said Minister Ballem. “The Province is committed to being a leader in addressing climate change and I wanted to impress upon the new federal minister how PEI and the Atlantic region can work with the federal government to help Canada reduce greenhouse emissions.”
Minister Ballem noted that Prince Edward Island was the first province to sign a Memorandum of Understanding on Climate Change with the federal government in 2003, and the Province has taken action on climate change through initiatives such as the Renewable Energy Strategy. This progressive policy has resulted in a major expansion in wind power and significant investment in research and development projects such as the PEI Wind Hydrogen Village and the Wind Energy Institute of Canada.
“Building on that strong foundation, we see opportunities to partner with the federal government on smaller-scale projects that fit with the priorities in this region, that can be used as models in other communities across Canada, and most importantly, projects that can make real progress in reducing greenhouse gases.”
As the Province moves forward on climate change, Minister Ballem told Minister Ambrose that PEI is looking forward to hearing the federal position on offset or carbon credits, which he indicated will be an important factor in maximizing renewable energy in the Atlantic region.
Minister Ballem and his Atlantic counterparts also took the opportunity at Tuesday’s meeting to give the federal minister an overview of the work of the Atlantic Council of Ministers of the Environment.
“There’s a strong working relationship among Atlantic provinces so we wanted to inform Minister Ambrose of some of the joint initiatives currently underway – such as co-operation on solid waste issues – and discuss how the federal government can best support these initiatives, he said.
Minister Ballem added he was pleased with the meeting and looks forward to hosting Minister Ambrose in Prince Edward Island in the coming weeks to talk further about PEI’s environmental priorities.