A few recent developments before we begin to discuss the current state of the
environment:
- A new NASA report found that a massive
melting of polar ice sheets attributed to
human caused global warming has led to a
“dramatic” shift in the way Earth rotates on
its axis
- “The combined average temperature over
global land and ocean surfaces for March
2016 was the highest for this month in the
1880–2016 record, at 1.22°C (2.20°F) above
the 20th century average of 12.7°C (54.9°F)...
Overall, the nine highest monthly temperature
departures in the record have all occurred in
the past nine months.” - National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- The Associated Press reported that 300
people died recently in South Asia due to an
extreme heat wave, and the hottest months are
still to come
Those reports, and many more, highlight
the increasingly dangerous state the planet
we all live on is currently undergoing. It was
under this context that Prime Minister of
Canada Justin Trudeau recently travelled
to New York to sign the COP21 United
Nations Agreement on Climate Change,
along with 174 other countries and the
European Union. The assembled diplomats
congratulated themselves for the largest
signing of an international agreement in one
day, and Trudeau also had proud words for
those attending, “Today, with my signature,
I give you our word that Canada’s efforts
will not cease....Climate change will test our
intelligence, our compassion and our will. But
we are equal to that challenge. I encourage
other signatories to move swiftly to follow
through on their commitments.”
But do the COP21 Agreement and Justin
Trudeau’s climate plans really live up to their
own hype?
We detailed the COP21 Paris Agreement
when it was first presented last year in Fire
This Time Volume 10, Issue 2. We pointed
out the obvious: it looks great that so many
countries are signing on to an international
agreement whose goal is to limit greenhouse
gas emissions to keep global temperatures
from rising more than 2°C by 2100 (with an
ideal target of keeping temperature rise below
1.5°C). However, there is absolutely nothing
binding in the agreement, and many
scientists have pointed out that even if
all the countries fulfilled their voluntary
targets global temperatures would still
rise over 2°C.
The significance of 2°C is a broad
scientific consensus that any warming
beyond this would trigger imbalances
in the planet so severe that the possibility
of supporting life becomes improbable. That
means if we go there, humanity is likely not
going to survive. Even a 1.5°C increase would
cause massive and unpredictable damage.
What about Canada and the New Prime
Minister?
First, the new Liberal majority government
did not change the emissions target set by
the previous Conservative government. It’s
exactly the same!
Second, the government’s own recently
released data shows that if we continue at
current levels of activity, it will be impossible to
meet that meagre goal of reducing greenhouse
gas emissions by 30 per cent from 2005 levels
by 2030. In fact, emissions will jump to 815
megatons - much higher than the goal of 524
megatons.
No wonder a new report from the Conference
Board of Canada ranks Canada 14th
among 16 peer countries when it comes to
environmental performance, with only the
United States and Australia doing worse.
Pipeline Contradictions
“I have been crystal
clear for years now
on pipelines. One
of the fundamental
responsibilities of
any Canadian prime
minister — and this
goes back centuries,
from grain on
railroads to fish
and fur — is to get
Canadian resources
to international
markets...But what the
Conservatives still
refuse to understand
is that in order to get our resources to market
in the 21st century, we have to be responsible
around the environment. We have to respect
concerns that communities have and we
have to build partnerships with indigenous
peoples.” - Justin Trudeau
Trudeau has been promising it all – to build the
pipelines, create the jobs, respect indigenous
rights and save the environment. Sounds nice,
but it’s not possible to do all of those things
at once. John Stone, a former climatologist
with Environment Canada, and vice-chair
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change’s Working Group II laid out the facts
simply, “If you build a pipeline, you’re going
to fill it with tar sands that’s going to increase
our emissions and that’s not going to allow us
to meet our climate change commitments.”
Union of BC Indian Chiefs Grand Chief
Stewart Phillip had this to say about the
government’s supposed new relationship
with indigenous nations and pipelines,“Like
everyone else, we’re monitoring these touchyfeely
public statements [from governments]
that are floating around. But to my knowledge,
there isn’t an emerging groundswell of support
in First Nations communities, or anything
of that nature. Premier Clark and Premier
Notley are talking to each other and [Prime
Minister Justin] Trudeau is talking to Notley,
but they don’t want to talk to the indigenous
people who are standing in opposition to these
projects. They want to dismiss and ignore the
opposition and the concerns that underline
that opposition”
So how does Trudeau plan to “respect the
concerns” of indigenous nations about the
pipelines when so many echo the sentiments
of Serge Simon, Grand Chief of the Mohawk
Nation in Kanesatake, “I would rather starve
before I took any money [for allowing
pipelines]. My grandchildren would curse me
for leaving them with that legacy.”
Keep Your Promises
Some people’s grandkids are already old
enough to figure out the flaws in Trudeau’s
promises. On the same New York trip he was questioned by students a New York University
as to how it’s possible to support, “still putting
money into dirty oil sands” and claiming to be
working towards a sustainable environment.
Trudeau completed his answer with, “Do I
agree that in the future we’re going to have to
get off fossil fuels? Absolutely. Is that future
tomorrow? No, it’s not.”
He’s deliberately avoiding the question though.
You don’t build a pipeline across the country
and use it for one day. Building pipelines from
the oil sands in Alberta involves a decades
long commitment to a resources extraction
and energy utilization process which
guarantees that Canada continues along the
unsustainable path which is putting the planet
and life in such a dangerous position in the
first place.
Nobody is blaming Trudeau for creating the
problem, but when you campaign on a slogan
of “Real Change Now” and you start making
promises left right and centre – it’s fair to
question how you uphold those commitments.
System Change, Not Climate Change!
Learn from Cuba!
A research paper published by Oxfam, shows
that the richest 1 percent have seen their share
of global wealth increase from 44 percent in
2009 to 48 percent in 2014 and at this rate
will be more than 50 percent in 2016. So let’s
not get confused and start fighting amongst
ourselves for where the responsibility for our
current environmental and financial crisis
comes from.
In her remarks on the signing of the COP21
agreement, Cuba’s Minister of Science,
Technology and Environment, Mrs. Elba
Rosa Perez Montoya quoted Cuban President
Raul Castro on the broader forces of economy
and inequality at play when it comes to
discussing the environment, “… We believe
that the cooperation framework agreed
upon after the Paris Summit on climate
change remains limited by the persistence
and imposition of irrational production and
consumption patterns, inconsistent with the
preservation of the human species. ”
In other words, as long as we prioritize
corporate profits above the lives of over 7
billion people and the planet we live in on, any
agreement no matter how many important
people sign it will fall short. We don’t need
any more hot air, either in the atmosphere or
coming out of the Prime Minister of Canada’s
mouth. We cannot wait for Trudeau to save
us from an environmental or economic
catastrophe. Capitalism is the problem. Poor
and working people need to work together
to expose these false promises and propose
real solutions based on dignity, sustainability
and social justice. We must demand, “System
Change Not Climate Change!
Follow Thomas Davies on Twitter:
@thomasdavies59
Read the Statement by the minister of Science, Technology and Environment of Cuba, Mrs. Elba Rosa Pérez Montoya to the special signature ceremony of the Paris Agreement on climate change. New York, April 22, 2016 here
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