Cape Breton Workshops Seek Public Input On Energy Policy, Climate Change
The province is seeking public input to revise its provincial energy strategy and create a climate change action plan.
Public workshops will take place in Sydney, Cheticamp and Port Hawkesbury on Nov. 26, 27 and 28. Dalhousie University oceanography professor Bob Fournier will facilitate the sessions.
"The province has set a deadline of 2020 for cutting greenhouse-gas emissions 10 per cent below 1990," said Energy Minister Richard Hurlburt. "We're committed to achieving that goal while maintaining a strong and growing economy."
Mr. Fournier, who recently chaired an environmental assessment of the proposed Whites Point Quarry near Digby, said meeting those goals presents challenges for policy planners.
"Our electricity, which is mostly coal-fired, generates about 42 per cent of our greenhouse gases," said Mr. Fournier. "How do we reduce our use of coal without driving up electricity prices? How do we balance our need for wind power with our ability to provide adequate back-up power? What new technologies or initiatives should we be promoting to meet our green energy needs?
"These are challenging questions and we want public input before we generate a policy that is to guide the province for years."
The Cape Breton workshops, which are among 12 similar sessions being held around the province, will run from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m
The Sydney session will take place Monday, Nov. 26, at the Delta Hotel, 300 Esplanade, Sydney. The Cheticamp session will take place Tuesday, Nov. 27, at the Senior Citizens Hall, 15108 Cabot Trail. The Port Hawkesbury session will take place Wednesday, Nov. 28, at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre, 606 Reeves St., Port Hawkesbury.
The province has created two documents to help inform public discussion. The first, Consultation Paper: Nova Scotia's Renewed Energy Strategy, deals with broad energy policy; the second, A Background Paper to Guide Nova Scotia's Climate Change Action Plan, with climate change -- especially action to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
The documents are online at www.gov.ns.ca/energy/energystrategy . The province will also accept written submissions on energy strategy and greenhouse-gas reduction until Dec. 19.
Information gathered from the public-consultation sessions will be used to create the Energy Strategy and the Climate Action Plan, scheduled for release in the spring.
Under the Environmental Goals and Sustainable Prosperity Act, Nova Scotia has established a target to have one of the cleanest and most sustainable environments in the world by 2020.