CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Britain's energy minister said on Thursday he will work with Canadian officials on technology for fighting global warming, and steered clear of criticizing Canada's less-ambitious targets for cutting emissions.
Unlike the United Kingdom, the governments of Canada andAlberta, the country's biggest energy producer, have resistedmoving forward with mandating tough absolute caps on emissionsto foster an active carbon trading market.
"I'm not here to preach. I'm here to listen and learn, aswell as say what has been the British experience," EnergyMinister Malcolm Wicks told reporters after speaking to abusiness audience in Calgary, Alberta.
"But the world needs to take seriously global warming -- Ithink the science is absolutely clear."
In Alberta, the government of Premier Ed Stelmach has set atarget to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 14 percent from 2005levels by the middle of the century.
However, with the rapid development of the province'smassive oil sands resource -- the largest oil deposits outsidethe Middle East -- emissions are expected to rise for more thana decade before cuts take hold.
Britain's target is to reduce emissions 60 percent from1990 levels by 2050, and possibly as much as 80 percent if theclimate appears to be changing at a more drastic pace thatcurrently forecast, Wicks said.
The Canadian and Alberta governments are counting on thedevelopment of carbon capture and storage technology for muchof their expected reductions in emissions. The technology isstill viewed as being in its infancy, however.
On Wednesday, Wicks toured northern Alberta's oil sandsregion, where much of Canada's focus on carbon capture iscentred.
The two countries have started preliminary discussionsabout cooperating on development, he said.
"Bilaterally and more internationally it just make sensefor us to swap notes, look at the technologies and actuallylook at the regulatory framework," Wicks said.
(Reporting by Jeffrey Jones; Editing by Renato Andrade)
