Climate information needed now, not in 2030
An open letter to Peterborough-Kawartha MP Maryam Monsef:
We are writing to express our delight that the Canadian government has finally proposed legislation Bill C-12 to hold this government, and future ones, accountable for setting up and sticking to clear plans to reduce greenhouse gases, leading to net-zero emissions by 2050.
We also applaud the requirements to set up an advisory body of experts to advise the government on how to reach its targets, and for the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development to provide an independent assessment of whether the five-year targets have been reached.
At the same time, we are very disappointed that the first date for such reporting is 2030, almost 10 years in the future and the year in which the UN says we much already have reduced emissions by 45 per cent from historical values if we are to stay below 1.5 degrees of warming. This is clearly not acceptable. The first target must not be later than 2025. There is no way we can meet the 2030 target if we do not aim for significant reductions by 2025.
Given all its promises, we must assume that your government already has a plan in place to address the next four years. In the speech from the throne, you promised that “Climate action will be a cornerstone of our plan to support and create a million jobs across the country.”
This included your government’s pledge to create thousands of jobs in energy-efficiency building retrofits, and to launch a new fund to attract investments in the manufacturing of zero-emissions products and to cut the corporate tax rate in half for green manufacturing companies.
We look forward to a modification of Bill C-12 to include a 2025 Milestone Year, and we would appreciate carrying on this discussion with you as Bill C-12 gets debated. We would also like to remind you that many progressive voters in Peterborough County took the gamble last fall of giving your government one more chance on the climate change file. What was promised was indeed impressive. Please don’t let us down. For Our Grandchildren, Peterborough