Canada is not walking the talk on climate change

Almost every day, new alarms are sounded about climate change — the most recent of which are contained in Canada’s Changing Climate Report.

The startling new revelation in the report is that Canada is warming at twice the rate of the rest of the world, and Canada’s north is warming at an even faster rate.

It is clear that the critical point in reversing global warming has been reached, and all Canadians can do now is slow the progression while putting adaption strategies in place.

At international meetings, including the August G7 (Canada, United States, U.K., Germany, France, Italy and Japan) meeting in Biarritz (France), Canada promoted itself as a leader on climate change. However, observers of Canada’s national approach to arresting global warming would label it “not as advertised.” A report prepared prior to the G7 meetings by the Climate Action Network indicated that Canada’s current polices are consistent with global warming exceeding 4 C (degrees Celsius) by 2030, more than twice Canada’s pledge at the Paris meetings in 2015. In the 2019 annual Climate Change Index, it was reported that Canada ranked 54th of the 60 countries surveyed on pollution control, and is described as one of the world’s largest emitters of greenhouse gases, both in absolute and in per-capita terms.

In their 2018 report Perspectives on Climate Change Action in Canada: A collaborative report from auditors general — the auditors reported that Canada missed its emission targets set at both The Rio Conference (1992) and again at the Kyoto Conference (2005), and they predicted that goals set at the Paris Agreement in 2016 will not be met.

On global environmental issues, Canada is perceived to be punching below its weight. One predominant reason is Canada’s bête noire — the tar sands and the industries supporting it. Alberta’s oil industry now accounts for about 50 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and the National Energy Board predicts that production at the tar sands will steadily increase over the next few decades. Clearly, an increase in the production of dirty oil will greatly increase, rather than hold in check, atmospheric pollution.

During the last four years, the Trudeau government initiated some positive action by discouraging the burning of coal and forcing a carbon tax on provinces that had not developed reduction plans that meet federal targets. Unfortunately, it greatly compromised its authority and sincerity by giving some of the largest industrial polluters what amounts to a “get out of jail card,” under the guise of protecting Canadian industry from foreign competition. Furthermore, the Liberal government’s continuing support of the oil industry by pouring billions of dollars worth of subsides each year into its coffers, and purchasing a pipeline on behalf of Canadian tax payers, reveals a disturbing mixed message.

The evidence is clear, Canada must support much more vigorous incentives for the development of clean energy and the reduction of energy use. In the 2019 Climate Change Performance Index, Canada was ranked 58th out of the 60 countries evaluated on total energy usage, and 44th on the use of renewable energy.

All the political parties should be aware that Canadians are greatly concerned about global warming, so the time is ripe for election platforms that offer bold new initiatives.

In my opinion, this is the most important election in our history. Failure to move faster and sooner on arresting greenhouse gas emissions has unimaginable consequences.