Climate Change Fund Mostly Funding Existing Government Expenditures

Fredericton – According to Green Party Leader David Coon, most of the government’s Climate Change Fund is a re-allocation of expenditures the government was already making.

“This government’s Climate Change Fund is empty,” said Coon. “I discovered, from questioning cabinet ministers at Estimates Committee, this is merely an accounting exercise, re-branding existing spending.”

Seventy percent of the money branded as climate change fund money is designated for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure, but it spent the same amount of money for the same purposes last year from general revenue:

· Energy Retrofits for Government Buildings – $11.2 million

· Renewable Power Generation – $9 million

· Shoreline Protection – $1 million

· Repairs to Storm Damaged Infrastructure – $1.5 million

· Dyke Maintenance – $550,000

“The Climate Change Fund, at this point, is a mirage, designed to give the public the idea this government is serious about implementing its climate action strategy,” said Coon.
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