Green Plan Protecting Province's Environment

Nova Scotia's environment is better protected since the launch of the provincial green plan, Towards a Sustainable Environment, in 2003.

The Department of Environment and Labour released a progress report on green plan initiatives today, Dec. 22.

"All government departments are making Nova Scotia a better place to live by meeting commitments for environmental sustainability in our green plan," said Environment and Labour Minister Kerry Morash. "Our actions are resulting in cleaner air and water, less waste, and more protected land."

In the past year, government has:

• adopted new air quality regulations with caps that reduced sulphur dioxide emissions this year and will reduce them more by 2010
• launched a green energy framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• worked with other provinces on a new national standard for mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants
• launched a SMART Tourism initiative to focus on the role of sustainable communities in the tourism industry
• designated more than 10,000 hectares as new wilderness areas and nature reserves
• passed legislation to make it easier to designate more nature reserves
• consulted with Nova Scotians on draft regulations to reduce electronic waste
• completed implementation of the provincial drinking water strategy
• adopted an environmental management policy.

"These are significant accomplishments that we've made with the support of our partners and all Nova Scotians," said Mr. Morash. "Their support is critical to the steady progress we're continuing to make on other green plan commitments."

The report, called Green Plan: Progress Towards a Sustainable Environment, is available at www.gov.ns.ca/greenweb .