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Montreal, January 27, 2016 - Équiterre congratulates the Trudeau government for today announcing five additional requirements to the environmental assessment of projects presented to Canada’s National Energy Board. The organization applauds the addition of a “climate test” for projects such as the Energy East and the Kinder Morgan pipelines. Équiterre also supports the fact that First Nations’ peoples and the general public will have a more considerable role in the consultation process than they previously had.
Here are the five requirements stipulated by Minister Jim Carr:
• Projects already in the process of being assessed will not be required to start over.
• Assessments will be based on science and the traditional knowledge of Canada’s First Nations.
• There must be a larger public consultation than the one previously conducted.
• Special attention will be paid to the concerns of First Nations’ peoples.
• GHG emissions, both direct and indirect, will be assessed.
“For years now, environmental groups have been clamouring for a comprehensive assessment of GHG emissions for large-scale energy projects such as Energy East. We applaud the Trudeau government’s decision to add a ‘climate test’ to the assessment process,” declared Steven Guilbeault, Senior Director at Équiterre. “We believe that this climate test will enable the government to ensure that no project gets approval if it does not meet the Paris Agreement to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”
Équiterre also supports the decision to not have these new requirements and consultations conducted by Canada’s National Energy Board; a clear condemnation by the federal government of the NEB’s disappointing performance.
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For more information:
Dale Robertson
Media Relations, Équiterre
514.605.2000
