Wall making his way through stages of denial

Premier still has a way to go to combat climate change, writes Brett Dolter.

David Suzuki has claimed that Premier Brad Wall is a climate-change denier. Wall responded Monday by saying, “I deny the fallacy that a new tax on Canadians — whose CO2 emissions are 1.6 per cent of global emissions — is the best way for Canada to help fight climate change.”

What is climate change denial? In 2013, Dana Nuccitelli of The Guardian outlined “Five stages of climate change denial.”

Stage One: Deny the problem exists

After some accusations this past spring, it is clear politicians in Saskatchewan have moved past this stage. Advanced Education Minister Bronwyn Eyre, for example, has backed away from her comments that climate change science is “witchcraft reasoning.” We have agreement that climate change is happening.

Stage Two: Deny we’re the cause of climate change

Eyre has also stated, “the actions of people affect climate change” and Wall has said, “Humanity is contributing to climate change.” Mind you, neither clarifies that we are the main cause of climate change, but they accept a link between human actions (presumably, burning fossil fuels) and climate change.

Stage Three: Deny it’s a problem

This is common in the locker-room at the YMCA, where you hear people joke that they’d like more climate change to warm up our winters. It’s been a while since I’ve heard talk of CO2 fertilizing crops — increasing drought, floods and extreme storms trump that benefit — and so I think it is safe to say that Saskatchewan has moved on from stage three.

Stage Four: Deny we can solve it

The premier’s comments about carbon pricing seem to show he is still stuck at this stage. Wall argues that a carbon price is not the best way to fight climate change. Legions of economists from across Canada, including the blue-ribbon EcoFiscal Commission, would disagree.

A carbon price sends a clear signal to move away from polluting fuels and activities. It is not the only way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it is likely the most costeffective way to do it.

To his credit, Wall has understood that renewable energy can play a role in lowering emissions in Saskatchewan’s electricity sector, though his spat with Prof. Mark Jacobson earlier in the year seems to indicate he does not believe we can power the country and the world solely with renewable energy.

So was Suzuki wrong to call Wall a climate-change denier? The premier has passed through stages one to three of climate change denial, but unfortunately for Canada, and the climate, he appears stuck at stage four, denying that carbon pricing and a renewable energy system can solve the problem.

Let’s just hope Wall passes through this stage before Canadians reach Stage Five and begin to believe “it is too late” to solve the problem …