Oct. 2, 2007 A coalition of CEOs representing 33 of Canada's biggest corporations have signed a declaration urging the country to take a leadership role in emissions reduction, saying Canada has the potential to become an "energy and environmental superpower," Canada's National Post reports.

In its declaration, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives said that the twin goals of greenhouse gas emissions reduction and economic growth are not in conflict.

"This idea that business doesn't care or all a business wants to do is blow out emissions, that's not true," council president Thomas d'Aquino said in an interview. "All sorts of companies have struggled to get their emissions down ... because the more successful they are [in reducing energy usage and related costs], the more successful they're going to be as a business."

In calling on Canada to become a global leader in emissions reduction, the declaration urged the country to:

• Create a national action plan involving government, industry, and consumers
• Commit to technological innovations that create or use energy in more environmentally sustainable ways
• Develop a policy framework that promotes economic growth and technological innovation
• Establish "price signals" such as emissions trading and environmental taxation to encourage sustainable use of energy

Signatories of the 11-page document include oil and gas CEOs Jean Bernier of Ultramar Ltd., Ron Brenneman of Petro-Canada, Marcel Coutu of Canadian Oil Sands Ltd., and Richard George from Suncor Energy Inc.