As Canadian politicians, including Environment Minister John Baird and Liberal Stephane Dion, make their to key climate change meetings in Bali, Indonesia next week, a new report (PDF, 765 kb) from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) tracks renewable energy use:

Renewable energy is increasingly being used as a mainstream ...   more »

Here's the highlights, according to the Post: Would raise CAFE fuel standards to 35 mpg by 2020 Required that, by 2015, 15 per cent of power generated by U.S. utilities would have to come from renewable energy sources such wind, thermal, or biomass.... (Canada has also banned that energy-wasting bulb) A rollback of US$13.5-billion in tax breaks for the five largest U.S. oil companies.

Canada generally follows the lead of the U.S. government on fuel efficiency standards although some environmental groups have been pressing Ottawa to be more aggressive, perhaps like the State of California, in pushing carmakers to make cars and light trucks that use less fuel and, hence, spew out less of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.... There appears to be support there for the CAFE modifications but Republican senators are threatening to strip out much of the rest of an ambitious energy package and President Bush has threatened to veto the bill.