By Randall Palmer and David Ljunggren
OTTAWA, Oct 20 (Reuters) - Newly elected Canadian leader
Justin Trudeau will arrive in office with a promise to improve
Canada's battered environmental image, vowing a new strategy for
global climate negotiations in Paris this December.
But delivering policies to match the expectations will be
much tougher.
Trudeau has less than 40 days before the Paris conference
begins, hardly time for yet-unnamed energy and environment
ministers to get up to speed, let alone to forge a common
position with Canada's provinces on carbon emissions cuts.
Yet the Liberal leader has pledged a break from the policies
of defeated Prime Minister Stephen Harper, a politician from
Alberta's oil patch who pulled Canada out of the Kyoto treaty
and fought to shield the energy industry from global commitments
to cut carbon emissions.
During the campaign, Trudeau attacked Harper relentlessly
for turning Canada into a "pariah" on climate change issues. He
pledged to attend the Paris conference, and then convene the
country's provincial premiers within 90 days to create national
emissions targets under a framework that would allow provinces
to set a price on carbon.
That party platform had almost no specifics but it raised
expectations both domestically and abroad that Trudeau would
alter Canada's course on climate. As votes were still being
counted, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore said he hoped the
election win would "put Canada back in a leadership position"
ahead of the Paris summit.
And a White House spokesman said on Tuesday that, with
regard to commitments in Paris, "we believe that it's possible
that there is more that Canada can do in this regard."
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12K1PO
Harper had pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 30
percent below 2005 levels by 2030 - though his plan gave few
details on how to get there. Critics say Canada's rising
emissions levels means it has almost no chance of meeting the
goal.
Sources close to the climate negotiations say the United
States and the European Union have both told the Canadian
government privately that Harper's target was not ambitious
enough.
"We'll have to come up with something concrete to put on the
table (in Paris), for sure," said Trudeau adviser Robert
Asselin, who gave no details.
The test will be bringing others along. Trudeau has promised
a more cooperative working relationship with lower levels of
government, unlike Harper who avoided the habitual messiness of
those negotiations by avoiding them altogether.
But trying to get a united voice on carbon cuts from
Canada's 10 provinces and three northern territories, which have
significant control over resource policies that affect the
environment, is daunting.
Energy-rich Alberta remains cautious about moves that could
hurt the oil and gas sector, despite a recent change in
provincial leadership to a green-friendly New Democratic Party.
The province is the largest source of U.S. crude imports -
as well as the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases in
Canada - but has laid off thousands of workers in recent months
due to slumping crude oil prices.
Meanwhile, the big provinces of Ontario, Quebec and British
Columbia, have already embarked on ambitious programs to cut
emissions.
Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard complained on Tuesday that
the existing 2030 targets are too weak and had been set without
consulting the provinces. He argued there is still enough time
for Trudeau and the premiers to reach a stronger Canadian
position before the Paris summit.
"The world is expecting a change of tone, of priorities and
of what (Canada) says on climate change ... in Quebec, we're
acting and will continue to act and I expect (Canada) will speak
with a more united voice on this issue," said Couillard.
The world may also discover that Trudeau is not committed to
overturning every energy policy of his predecessor.
During the campaign he expressed qualified support for
building TransCanada Corp's TRP.TO Keystone XL pipeline, which
would carry heavy oil from Alberta's oil sands to U.S.
refineries. The controversial pipeline has been stalled by the
heavily skeptical Obama administration.
Support for Keystone may have helped Trudeau's party break
through to win four seats in Alberta, a province that had been
long hostile to the Liberals.
Trudeau says the proposed Energy East pipeline that would
carry Western oil to the Atlantic provinces for export needs
community support.
But it is the Paris talks that will likely be the first test
of Trudeau's environmental credentials in office.
Although the Environmental Protection Act gives Ottawa the
right to restrict and manage pollution, previous attempts to
agree on binding emissions targets had run into arguments over
how much credit provinces should be given for green initiatives
they were already undertaking.
Environmental analyst John Bennett said unless Trudeau
decided to force the provinces to stick to a deal, "he's going
to discover pretty quickly ... that everyone will come to
meeting and say 'Yes, we'll do this' and go home and then do
whatever they like."
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Take a Look on Canadian election urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N12G1ER
Canada election package http://graphics.thomsonreuters.com/15/canada-election/
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>