20% increase in energy efficiency in 12 years, premiers pledge

Canadian premiers said Friday they have committed to achieving a 20 per cent increase in energy efficiency in their provinces by 2020.

"In the context of rising energy prices, which is a very serious concern to all our governments, the council is going to emphasize — as all Canadians should — energy efficiency and conservation," Quebec Premier Jean Charest said at a news conference wrapping up the meeting of the Council of the Federation in Quebec City.

Charest said the premiers also undertook to create 25,000 megawatts of renewable energy and proposed a number of different measures, including a national building code revision and new standards for green buildings and green construction.

"In terms of energy savings, we believe this will be a major emerging issue given the rising cost of energy," Charest said.

Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald said the No. 1 issue facing Canadians this winter is rising energy prices, but the targets the premiers have set out are achievable goals.

Nova Scotia will play host to a meeting of energy and environment ministers by the end of September to discuss the matter.

MacDonald said the conference will focus on finding ways of saving money in light of what is becoming an increasing challenge.

"The kilowatt hour not used does not cost any money. And that is where we need to be, certainly as a province and certainly as a country," he said.

The three-day meeting also saw Ontario join an initiative that aims to compel companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

The province is now part of the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), which includes British Columbia, Manitoba, Quebec and seven U.S. states.

A key to the initiative is a so-called cap-and-trade system, which allows polluters to buy credits from greener companies.

With files from the Canadian Press

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