WASHINGTON, D.C. — With the Canadian federal government determined to tie Ottawa's climate and energy policy to Washington's, the Pembina Institute announced today that it has established an on-the-ground presence in the U.S. capital.

"We are pleased to introduce Danielle Droitsch as our new U.S. Policy Director," said Marlo Raynolds, Executive Director at the Pembina Institute. "Danielle brings a wealth of policy experience on both sides of the border, and we look forward to enhancing our ability to track and assess U.S. policy from a Canadian perspective."

"President Obama has made it clear that one of his next top priorities will be having Congress pass climate and energy legislation," said Danielle Droitsch, who will lead the Institute's analysis of U.S. energy and climate initiatives from Washington, D.C. "Our federal government's decision to cede leadership and responsibility to the U.S. Congress on key climate issues makes it critical that we assess and analyze the implications of U.S. policy from a Canadian perspective."

Despite Ottawa's stated intention to harmonize its climate policy with the U.S., the Canadian government is lagging significantly behind the U.S. in its level of support for clean energy. A recent Pembina analysis comparing the federal 2010 budget in Canada with President Obama's budget request for 2010 found that the U.S. federal government is investing 18 times more, per capita, than Canada's federal government in renewable energy.

With oil sands development increasingly on the radar of U.S. legislators, Pembina also intends to continue sharing its research and analysis of related issues.

"We believe it's critical to have an objective, independent Canadian policy organization providing factual information on the environmental impacts of oil sands development to U.S. decision-makers," Raynolds said.

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The Pembina Institute is a non-partisan sustainable energy think tank.

For more information, contact:

Marlo Raynolds
Executive Director
The Pembina Institute
Cell: 403-607-9427
marlor@pembina.org

Danielle Droitsch
Director, US Policy
The Pembina Institute
Office: 202-513-6243
danielled@pembina.org

Read our climate blog for Pembina's perspective on Canada's deference to the United States on climate policy.

Compare the facts with the myths behind Canadian oil sands production in the report Clearing the Air on Oil Sands Myths.