We've had a gutfull of wonderful, inspiring words from the new Liberal prime minister but sometimes reality gets in the way to shred that tissue of comfort.
There's this, for starters. Under the new management, Canada won't even be making Harper's emissions target.
Canada’s Second Biannual Report on Climate Change projects greenhouse gas emissions reaching 768 megatonnes in 2020 and 815 megatonnes in 2030. These estimates mean Canada would fail to meet previous goals set by the Harper government in Copenhagen in 2009 — 622 megatonnes by and 524 megatonnes for 2030.
“Without additional measures, continued strong emissions growth” in the oil and gas sector will push the emissions to the above limits, the report stated.
Within the fossil fuel sector, the oil sands are seen as the leading cause of the increase in emissions.
Meanwhile, prime minister All Things to All Men is assuring Big Fossil that he'll work to get pipelines through to carry their high-carbon sludge to vulnerable coastlines and on to world markets. This is, of course, the same bitumen that climate scientists have bluntly told us must be left in the ground (i.e. stranded) if the world is to have any remote chance of limiting global warming to somewhat less than 2 degrees Celsius (as if).
And, of course, this is the same prime minister who thinks Canada should go ahead and sell $15-billion worth of high-tech death wagons to that bastion of democracy and human rights, Saudi Arabia.
"In Canada screwed over by your politicians is always possible!"
ReplyDeleteI think I'll head out to Newfoundland & Labrador where the people know how to live with sustainability. Where the air is clean and the oil is sweet crude.
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