Feds to unveil weakened emissions standards
September 5, 2012
By The Globe and Mail
September 5, 2012, Ottawa, ON – After a year of tough negotiations with companies and premiers that tested Ottawa’s resolve to fight climate change, Environment Minister Peter Kent is finally ready to present the final version of regulations to curtail greenhouse gas emissions from the coal-fired electricity sector.
Mr. Kent is travelling to Saskatoon Wednesday to present a weaker version of the regulations he drafted a year ago, according to The Canadian Press.
Multiple sources say the new performance standard for coal plants will not be as strict as initially proposed.
In draft regulations put forward for discussion in August 2011, Mr. Kent proposed that new coal plants only be allowed if they can emit less than 375 tonnes of carbon dioxide per gigawatt hour of electricity generated.
In the final version, that standard is likely to be relaxed to about 420 tonnes instead of 375.
Sources also say the time allowed for old plants to meet the new standard will be about 50 years – instead of the originally proposed 45 years.
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