Federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice says his government and that of U.S. president Barack Obama share common principles on fighting climate change that will go a long way toward working out a North American environmental accord.
"When you actually look at what the new president has said and what our government has been saying there's actually a high degree of consensus and commonality," Prentice said from Calgary, where he was drawing attention to plans to spend $130 million to twin a section of the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park.
Obama's positions on climate change are often contrasted with those of Canada's Conservative government.
Critics point out that the new U.S. administration has said it favours absolute reductions on greenhouse gases while Tories north of the border prefer so-called intensity caps, which would still allow emissions to rise. As well, Obama's spending promises on alternative energy dwarf those in the recent Canadian budget.
Still, as Ottawa prepares to welcome Obama on his first presidential visit, Prentice maintains the two countries share a common approach.
Both countries seek to balance economic growth with environmental progress, he said. As well, both countries favour longer time periods for greenhouse gas reduction and the inclusion of all emitting countries in any global agreement.
Finally, Canada and the U.S. will both rely heavily on technological solutions.
"If you look at the principles that President Obama has put forward ... they are virtually identical to the principles that we have spoken about as Canadians," said Prentice.
That doesn't mean there won't be pressure points if the two countries do try to reach a common policy.
"The challenge for us is to focus on clean oil and to ensure that we are the most environmentally responsible energy producer around," said Prentice.
Canada's oilsands are often criticized in the U.S. for producing three to four times as much greenhouse gases as conventional oil. Some state governments have already introduced legislation that could ban oilsands-derived oil.
Obama has also spoken strongly on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal, which fuels 70 per cent of U.S. power generation.
Prentice said the U.S. has a long way to go before speeches become legislation.
"We will see were the Americans wind up," he said.
But he acknowledges that whatever they do will heavily influence Canada's options.
"It's important that our approaches be similar," Prentice said. "It's not necessary that they be identical, but they certainly have to function together.
"Part of the challenge in all of this has been that we don't levy competitive burdens on either side of the border."
Prentice said any North American cap-and-trade agreement is likely to put pressure on regional arrangements, such as that enacted by Alberta or the Western Climate Initiative proposed by seven states and four provinces.
"It's in everyone's interests that as this thing unfolds, we end up with a system that isn't broken up into a series of subnational approaches. In the interests of what we need to do as a society in terms of investments and technological change, it's important that we have a national approach."
However, any common policy on the environment or climate change is a long way off, said Prentice.
"It's early days yet."
