Obama sets the pace
Canadians looking for leadership on climate change turned their eyes to Washington, not Ottawa, this week as President Barack Obama unveiled the details of his Clean Power Plan. It was North America’s best hope of a low-carbon future.
Calling it “the biggest, most important step we’ve ever taken to combat climate change,” the U.S. president set an ambitious greenhouse gas reduction target and accelerated his country’s shift toward renewable energy.
Obama’s move came on Day 2 of Canada’s election campaign. But to the disappointment of environmentalists and concerned citizens, it had no visible impact. It did not prod the party leaders into announcing precise plans with clear timelines to move from fossil fuels to renewable energy. It did not quicken their pace or bolster their resolve. In fact, it was barely mentioned.
The superficial explanation is that Obama’s approach wouldn’t work in Canada. He focused chiefly on coal, which generates 39 per cent of his nation’s electricity. In Canada, coal accounts for just 10 per cent of electricity production.
The more disquieting possibility is that none of the parties wanted to discuss the principle underlying Obama’s plan: a nation that is serious about reducing its carbon footprint starts with its biggest problem. In the U.S, it is coal-fired generators. In Canada, it is the oil sands, the fastest growing source of greenhouse gases.
For Conservative Leader Stephen Harper, that would have meant explaining how he intends to reach the goal his government last May — a 30-per-cent reduction in carbon emissions from their 2005 level by 2030 — with no measures to curb the pollutants pouring out of the smokestacks in the oilsands. For New Democratic Party Leader Thomas Mulcair it would have meant backing up his pledge to meet Canada’s climate change obligations with a precise target and a credible road map. For Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau it would have meant taking overall responsibility for getting the job done, as Obama has done, rather than putting the onus on the provinces.
The prime ministerial contenders have time to flesh out their plans and they certainly have an incentive: the planet needs a cleaner Canada.
The lesson of Obama’s plan is that a committed national leader can move the yardsticks. The president will no doubt face opposition from climate-change skeptics, coal producers and governors whose states depend on the cheap, dirty fuel. But he made it clear America is moving forward. That is the kind of leadership Canada needs.