Minister's response to concerns raised by Marty Gobin

Marty Gobin
17 Geddy Street
Whitby, Ontario L1P 1P8

Dear Mr. Gobin

This is in response to your Notice of Objection, dated September 21, 2005, respecting the proposed Order to add the Kyoto Greenhouse Gases to Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 in which you requested that I establish a Board of Review.

Your Notice of Objection suggests that the Government has not given sufficient regard to studies linking climate change to natural causes. The comprehensive scientific assessment done by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for their Third Assessment Report (TAR) reviewed published literature available up to and including 2001. The body of science reviewed in the TAR is enormous. Most of the global warming of the past 50 years is likely to have been due to increases in greenhouse gas concentrations. Atmospheric GHG concentrations and their radiative forcings have generally increased over the 20^th century as a result of human activities. Canadian research and research identifying Canadian impacts are included in the IPCC review of published literature, and thus form part of the IPCC TAR which was the basis for the EC Science Synthesis Report. Scientific papers that have been published since that date strongly support and even strengthen the conclusions of the TAR. The weight-of evidence in support of adverse impacts arising from continued increases in anthropogenic sources of GHGs is substantial.

I have fully and carefully considered your Notice of Objection. I am of the view that it does not provide any information with respect to the nature and extent of the danger posed by the Kyoto greenhouse gases that has not previously been considered. Therefore I will not establish a Board of Review.

Thank you for your comments.

Yours sincerely,

Stéphane Dion