TORONTO - Ontario's governing Liberals continued to shroud themselves in shades of green Friday as they promised $6.6 million over four years for cash-starved environmental groups to educate the public about the dangers of climate change.

It was just the latest in a string of recent pre-election announcements on the eve of an Oct. 10 provincial vote that has opposition rivals accusing the Liberals of cobbling together a "back-of-the-napkin'' environmental platform.

The government had originally indicated it would release a $200-million climate-change plan in the spring, but has since decided to scatter the details of the strategy during the summer months.

Environment Minister Laurel Broten refused to say Friday how many such announcements might still be in the offing.

On Wednesday, she announced a new green "eco-licence'' plate for drivers of lower-emission vehicles. Those drivers would get special perks, which could include free parking or access to car-pool lanes.

The following day, the government announced plans to harness methane produced at landfill sites for use as renewable energy.

Conservative critic Laurie Scott dismissed Friday's announcement as a cheap headline grab, especially considering the funding amounts to just $1.65 million a year and won't be paid out until after the election.

"It's not sufficiently adequate for what (Broten) thinks it's going to do, and if she's really serious about greenhouse gas emissions and educating our youth, I think they should put more money towards those programs,'' Scott said.

"This is quick, back-of-the-napkin, make up the policy as you go, because the environment is going to be a hotter issue in the election than (they) had thought.''

In addition to Friday's funding, Finance Minister Greg Sorbara also announced that Kate Holloway, a high-profile environmental activist and former federal Green party member, will be the Liberal candidate in Toronto's Trinity-Spadina riding.

Sorbara, who is also the Liberal campaign co-chairman, said the climate-change strategy ended up being divided into smaller announcements because the issue is too big for a single news conference.

"Climate change isn't about making one announcement and following one specific strategy,'' he said.

"It's about the public transit plan . . . it's about reducing greenhouse gases, it's about getting out of coal, it's about incenting people to purchase products that have less of an environmental impact and it's about changing the way in which we do our work here.''

The government's not trying to hide anything by refusing to disclose how many planks are left in its climate change plan, he added. "We are responsible for governing right up until the time that parliament is dissolved and we're going to keep working.''

The environment is top of mind for voters, so it's no surprise the Liberals are keen to get every headline they can, said Greg Inwood, an associate professor of politics at Toronto's Ryerson University.

And while the Liberals may be guilty of turning their focus to the environment for electoral reasons, they are not alone, Inwood said.

"It's the case, I think not just with the Ontario Liberals but with most political parties, that they were a little bit late coming to the game,'' he said.

"Everybody is trying to out-green everyone else and it does seem like a case of politicians following public opinion rather than leading.''

The recent focus on the environment as a political issue pushed 13 of Ontario's best-known activist organizations to develop a campaign called Priorities for Ontario, to draw attention to issues that politicians should focus on.

The government should be working on shutting down coal-fired power plants rather that mounting a public relations blitz before the official election campaign even begins, said Jack Gibbons of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance.

"We need strict regulations that will require dramatic reductions from dirty coal plants and big industrial polluters,'' Gibbons said.

"Giving $6 million to environment groups is tokenism.''

Broten also took some heat Friday for the green-plate proposal after it was pointed out that some American states are planning to use similar plates to identify registered pedophiles and sex offenders.

That unfortunate coincidence just shows a lack of planning and research into policies the government is quickly throwing together, said New Democrat Peter Tabuns.

"It just seems to be a string of these half-baked, partially thought out concepts that they're sprinkling around like green pixie dust.''