Monday, March 3, 2008

Businesses feel the heat from global warming

British Columbia, Canada enacts greenhouse gas reduction act.

March 07 2008

Vancouver, BC, Canada.There may be no end in sight to the debate over global warming, but that doesn’t prevent it from casting a long legal shadow over Canadian businesses.

The implementation of the Kyoto Protocol has been inconsistent around the world, often caught in political headwinds. For example, the U.S. signed the protocol in 1997 but the Bush administration refused to ratify it four years later. However, despite a lack of serious federal initiatives in Canada and the U.S., various provinces, states and corporations have been taking steps to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets Act, recently enacted in B.C., requires the B.C. government to become carbon neutral by 2010, among other things. The news release announcing the Act stated that the Act is the first in a series of legislative initiatives that will be brought forward this year. More >>>