Record of Decisions

The Record of Decisions for the December 19, 2005 meeting was approved.  It was agreed that efforts will be made to ensure future Records of Decisions are available more quickly after meetings.

Membership

The Co-chairs welcomed Richard Nerysoo, President of the Nihtat Gwich’in Council, as a new member of the Table. 

New Federal Government Priorities

 Samy Watson gave a brief overview of the Government’s environmental priorities.   

Canadian Environmental Network (CEN) Meeting

Marlo Raynolds, on behalf of all ENGO representatives, reported on the recent meeting of the CEN on the issue of Sector Sustainability Tables. 

Decisions

1. An overview of Canada’s existing energy/environmental commitments will be presented at a future meeting of the ESST, as previously agreed to.


2. The issue of Co-chair tenure and rotation will be addressed at the upcoming meeting of the Cross Cutting Issues Table (CCIT).

Vision Discussion

Ken Ogilvie, chair of the Vision subgroup[1], presented the outcome of the discussions on Vision that have taken place since the December ESST meeting.  It was suggested that the discussion on the Vision include the following three points:  National Environmental Objectives, Priorities and Tools.

 Decisions

1. The subgroup will discuss and make recommendations regarding the mechanism and process for examining broad national objectives for discussion at the next ESST meeting.


2. Linking to the Environmental Scan, the subgroup will establish criteria and propose a grouping of the most important issues raised by Table members.


3. At the next ESST meeting, the subgroup will propose an approach to discuss tools to encourage progress and effect change.  The first step could be to develop a document describing the main tools available to government.  The Secretariat will get input from members on the body of literature on government instruments and prepare a preliminary document to submit to Vision subgroup.

Energy Efficiency / Conservation

On behalf of the subgroup working on developing the Energy Efficiency Working Group (EEWG)[2], Mike Cleland presented recommendations for the terms of reference for the EEWG, including a preliminary membership list (Annex A) and proposed general principles on membership structure (Annex B).

Decisions

1. The EEWG is established.


2. Mike Cleland and Marlo Raynolds are the Co-chairs of the EEWG.


3. The Co-chairs of the EEWG will circulate a revised proposed membership list to the ESST for review and comments.


4. The EEWG Terms of Reference will be amended such that the products of the EEWG will be designed to address the following:
• energy efficiency best practices domestically and internationally;


• why energy efficiency is not occurring in a more significant way in Canada;


• an energy efficiency “performance band” identifying a minimum level of expected improvement in energy efficiency as well as an upper threshold of what “aggressive energy efficiency” might provide;


• the options that exist to “make energy efficiency happen” in Canada; and


• evaluation of the above options based on a defined set of criteria.
5. The Secretariat will proceed with the hiring of a Research Manager for the EEWG.


6. The EEWG will work with Ken Ogilvie and the Secretariat to arrange a presentation on transportation energy efficiency at the next ESST meeting.

Environmental Scan

Brian Gray presented the Environmental Scan of the Energy System (the Scan) prepared by Environment Canada and recommended that it become a product of the ESST.  Members stressed the importance of such a scan to understand the state of the environment in Canada and to be able to measure progress.  Members supported ongoing efforts to improve the data collection and fill the information gaps where required. 

 Decisions 

1. The Scan will be revised to reflect comments received from ESST members.  It will be re-distributed electronically to members within two weeks for approval before it is made public.


2. Environment Canada will work with NRCan and industry to integrate economic data into the document.


3. The scan will periodically be revised and will be discussed at ESST meetings as required.

Technology

Out of the discussions of the environmental scan and energy efficiency, some members raised the need for a mapping and a gap analysis on the technology side.  It was suggested that it would be useful to prepare a document similar to the Environmental Scan, which identifies the state of energy technology in Canada.  It should build on the work of other advisory committees to government, including the report of the National Advisory Panel on Sustainable Energy Science and Technology Strategy which is expected to be made public soon. 

Decisions

1.  The Co-chairs will consult with Richard Fadden on the opportunity for the ESST to do work on energy technologies.  Vicky Sharpe and Pierre Alvarez will also participate in this process.


2. An outline of a potential “Technology Scan” and related workplan will be presented at the next ESST meeting.

Other

Gerard Protti introduced Christine Hogan to the ESST.  She will soon be taking over duties from France Pégeot as an observer on the Table.

Next Meeting

 Suggested agenda items for upcoming meetings are:

• Natural Resources Canada energy priorities


• Presentation on transportation energy efficiency


• Outline of Technology Scan


• Progress reports from the subgroups (EEWG and Vision)


• Existing energy/environment commitments

The Secretariat will attempt to schedule the next meeting of the ESST in May 2006.