The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
An environmental organization wants Ottawa to legislate higher fuel-efficiency standards for automobiles instead of relying on manufacturers to do so voluntarily. The Sierra Club of Canada doesn't believe the voluntary approach has worked in the past or will work in the future. "Every fuel-efficiency improvement in the last 40 years has come about because of government regulation," Shawn-Patrick Stensil, Director of Atmosphere and Energy for organization, said from his Ottawa office. Without regulations, Stensil said he's concerned that Canada will fail to meet its commitment to reduce greenhouse gases under the Kyoto Protocol. The federal government has asked automakers to voluntarily increase the fuel efficiency standards of Canadian vehicles by 25 per cent by 2010. Automobiles reportedly account for 10 per cent of the country's total greenhouse gas emissions.
