Throne speech has environmental plan: Graham

After more than a decade of pumping out greenhouse gases at ever greater rates, New Brunswick will soon have a plan to deal with climate change, the premier promises.

"Stay tuned for the speech from the throne on Tuesday," Premier Shawn Graham said on Friday. "There'll be a clear indication of how we're going to be dealing with the environment in this session of the house."

Climate change has become a central issue in federal politics.

The Conservatives have been attacking Liberal Leader Stéphane Dion because, Canada's greenhouse gas emissions increased 2.1 tonnes per person in the 14 years between 1990 and 2004, much of the time with Liberals in power.

A national scandal, say the Tories. Butin New Brunswick during the same period, emissions increased 9.9 tonnes per person, and current planscould push thatmuch higher.

Irving Oil, forexample,announced in January that it was registering its plan to build a second oil refinery for an environmental impact assessment, and Graham has said his government supports the expansion.

The existing refinery releases more than 9,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere everyday, accounting for more than 13 per cent of the province's output.In 2005the refinery was Canada's second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions east of Ontario.

And next spring, NB Power plans to shut down the Point Lepreau nuclear plant for renovations, and replace that lost power with increased output from its fossil fuel plants including Coleson Cove where it plans to burn cheap petroleum coke, a fuel that emits 25 per cent more greenhouse gases than oil.

"There's a test-burning process that's being undertaken as we speak," Graham said. "I'll be following up with the minister of energy to determine what the result of that test burn was."