There were a lot of eco-bucks in last week's provincial budget, but environmentalists say it's an open question as to whether or not they'll be spent.
Last week's provincial budget promised millions in spending for environmental monitoring, carbon capture and public transit projects.
Alberta Environment will spend about $17 million on monitoring, science and reporting, according to budget documents, or about $3 million more than the previous year. Some of this money will go towards creating a new environmental monitoring system for the Alberta oilsands, said department spokesperson Cara Tobin.
The department's budget shrank by about $10 million due to smaller-than-expected industry contributions to the Climate Change and Emissions Management Fund, Tobin said, a technology fund to which industry can contribute in lieu of reducing emissions.
Alberta Energy budgeted $73 million for carbon-capture and storage projects such as the recently announced Enhance Energy/North West Upgrading project in Sturgeon County. The province pledged to spend $2 billion on carbon-capture in 2008 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but has so far spent just $2 million.
Alberta Transportation plans to spend $120 million on public transit this year under its GreenTRIP program, according to spokesperson Tammy Forbes, as well as $70 million held over from last year's budget.
St. Albert Mayor Nolan Crouse, the past-chair of the transit committee for the Capital Region Board, was skeptical of those promises. The province pledged $2 billion for GreenTRIP in 2008 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through public transit, he noted, but has yet to spend any of it.
"We're in the two-to-three year range since [GreenTRIP] has been announced and there's still nothing funded," he said. "I'm just concerned they're putting a new blanket on an old horse."
Skepticism abounds
It took until last June to finalize the rules for the grant program, said Forbes, when asked about the delay, and the deadline for applications was last November. The province has received about 15 formal applications under GreenTRIP and will announce funding for some of them later this year.
St. Albert had yet to send in applications for its projects, Crouse said, due in part to skepticism about the funding. The city had previously announced plans to build a south-side transit centre using GreenTRIP funding. "Is there really cash available or not?"
There are currently four carbon-capture projects proposed for Alberta, said Jay O'Neill of Alberta Energy, one of which (Enhance Energy) has been approved. The Enhance project is expected to store about 1.2 megatonnes of carbon dioxide a year by late 2014, according to the company.
When asked why the province has spent just $2 million of its $2 billion commitment since 2008, O'Neill cited the slow pace of negotiations. "We can't spend any money until the agreement is signed."
The province was confident that it would reach its goal of capturing five megatonnes of emissions by 2015, he added.
It's encouraging to see Alberta Environment putting more cash into monitoring, said Miles Constable of the Big Lake Environment Support Society, especially after years of cuts. "They've basically reduced their monitoring efforts to the point of being almost useless."
Constable criticized the department for focusing on single-issue projects like the oilsands while skimping on basic background monitoring. "That isn't sexy and it doesn't get anyone elected, but it ultimately is going to be very useful."
