Why Act Now? : Can Canada Afford to Delay Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Action Beyond the 2000 Federal Budget?

While greenhouse gas emissions can be reduced dramatically through measures that are worth doing for reasons that include protecting human health, improving competitiveness, saving consumers' money and improving the liveability of cities, delaying action will likely prove expensive. Barring an almost unimaginable derogation of responsibility towards the citizens of the globe, the increasing scientific consensus around the need to act makes international greenhouse gas emission limits a virtual certainty. Canada needs to position itself for this inevitability. This brief considers the international imperative for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the costs, to both Canadians' health and the Canadian economy -- of delaying action to reduce emissions. It urges Members of Parliament to support extensive funding for greenhouse gas emission reductions in the 2000 Federal Budget.