The environmental law team at Siskinds LLP wishes Dianne every success in her new role as the Environmental Commissioner for Ontario. Dianne will be sworn in and officially take office on November 26, 2015. Not long after, she will be attending the annual climate change conference (COP21) held under the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). This year’s conference will be held in Paris, from November 30 to December 11, 2015.
This year’s COP promises to be an exciting time for the Canadian delegation, after years of Canada being the recipient of numerous “fossil awards” for its position on climate change. The recently installed Canadian Government is promising a new approach, warning of difficult choices, after the former government formally withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in December 2011.
To add to the buzz around climate talk, yesterday Alberta released an historic Climate Leadership Plan, aiming to phase out coal plants, accelerate the transition from coal to renewable electricity sources, put a price on carbon pollution, and set emissions limits for the oil sands. Oil companies in Alberta also supported the plan, noting the “measures provide predictability and certainty and will help ensure that producers can responsibly develop and grow this significant Canadian resource while also addressing global concerns about climate change.”
We wish Dianne and the entire Canadian delegation success at COP21 and look forward to seeing Canada move the climate action agenda forward.