The First Ministers also agreed that no region should be asked to bear an unreasonable burden as Canada seeks to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions. The Ministers approved the creation of a national climate change secretariat, which will include representatives from the provincial, territorial and federal governments. The National Climate Change Secretariat will support the development of a national implementation strategy. Secretariat staff members will operate from their current locations, and the secretariat will have federal and provincial co-chairs. Early action becomes a more attractive investment when stakeholders are confident that delaying action to reduce emissions is not advantageous.
Industry wants a clear signal to that effect.
By encouraging early action, Canada's ability to meet its obligations under the Kyoto agreement is facilitated. The Ministers agreed to establish by early 1999 a system for crediting verifiable early action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions against any future emission obligations. The Ministers of Energy and Environment agreed that Canadians must be encouraged to increase their voluntary reductions of greenhouse gas emissions well in advance of the period described in the Kyoto Protocol. The Ministers recognized that many sectors of the Canadian economy will be more likely to undertake voluntary emission reductions today if they are assured that those actions will be credited against any future obligations. The credited reductions must be measurable and verifiable and credited against future obligations.