Response to Out of Balance: The risk of irreversible climate change

The Standing Committee on Environment of the Canadian House of Commons tabled a report entitled Out of Balance, which was an investigation of issues related to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and possible responses to impending climatic change. The government's response to the recommendations made in that report are presented. The framework to the government's response is first introduced, which includes the National Action Strategy on Global Warming (NASGW) that provides a strategy for Canadian initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The strategy is based on the fundamental principles of comprehensiveness, the importance of international agreements, and flexibility. The Standing Committee's recommendations focused on policies to limit Canadian emissions of carbon dioxide, one of the major greenhouse gases. Canadian policies to achieve this goal are being implemented in the Green Plan and the NASGW. Other recommendations and responses involve environmental education, greenhouse gas data collection, phasing out of chlorofluorocarbons, natural gas leakage, energy conservation and demand management, regulatory systems, fuel efficiency standards, forest management, greenhouse gas emissions from federal departments and agencies, and encouragement of environmentally acceptable technologies