Environment and Conservation
December 11, 2014

The following statement was given today in the House of Assembly by the Honourable Dan Crummell, Minister of Environment and Conservation:

Green Fund Continues Achieving Green Results

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform this Honourable House about the accomplishments being achieved through the Newfoundland and Labrador Green Fund. This fund has played a large part in supporting energy efficiency, environmental sustainability and climate change projects in our province.

In 2007, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador received $23 million from the EcoAction Trust Fund for Clean Air and Climate Change to initiate programs or projects with potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Our government also invested $2 million bringing the Newfoundland and Labrador Green Fund to $25 million and the Department of Environment and Conservation began implementing several innovative projects.

Mr. Speaker, today I can report that through the Newfoundland and Labrador Green Fund almost all of the $25 million has been invested into initiatives that use a variety of different approaches and that have resulted in improvements to such organizations as the Gathering Place, the Corner Brook Civic Centre, the Town of St. Anthony, Ronald McDonald House, the Stella Burry Community Services Centre and others. Through the fund we are seeing measurable and significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

In fact, Mr. Speaker, the projects, upgrades and changes we’ve supported have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 200,000 tonnes annually - the equivalent of taking 50,000 cars off the road.

Mr. Speaker, undertaking measures to counteract the changing climate and the effects it causes are increasingly important and our government will continue to enhance our environmental protection efforts and play our part to help ensure a sustainable and healthy environment for the future.

Thank you.

2014 12 11                                        1:55 p.m.