Green Party Leader David Coon says that Tory and Liberal support for expanding the oil and gas industry has undermined their commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

In the past 11 years, carbon emissions from the electric power sector have declined by almost 17%, decreasing by 1 million tonnes, while emissions from fossil fuel production and refining have more than doubled, increasing by 1.3 million tonnes, according to the latest data published last month inEnvironment Canada's National Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

"Climate change is raising the cost of everything from household insurance and groceries to road repairs and flood compensation," said Green Party leader David Coon. "The Alward government must establish a legally-binding cap on carbon emissions and table a credible climate action plan before it contemplates releasing an oil and gas blueprint," said Coon. "The doubling of emissions from the oil and gas sector has cancelled out all of the progress we made to get emissions down in the electric power sector," he said.

The Lord and Graham governments committed to lowering New Brunswick's emissions to 1990 levels by 2012. The Alward government committed in its Energy Blueprint to achieve a further 10% reduction by 2020. As of 2011, New Brunswick's emissions were 16%, or 2.6 million tonnes, higher than they were in 1990.

New Brunswick's first climate action plan expired last year and has not been replaced.