Sunday, January 05, 2020
It's a Matter of Perspective
When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions Canada is a global pariah. Whether it's per capita emissions or overall emissions we're among the real bad boys. On a per capita basis we come in third or fourth. According to the World Resources Institute we're first, as in "worst." On overall emissions Canada, with just 0.5 per cent of the world's population, is will within the top 10 and set to move up two, possibly three rungs if the Trudeau government permits the massive open-pit bitumen project in Athabasca.
With those stats in mind, I was dismayed to read a report on an Oxfam study that the average Briton's greenhouse gas emissions for two weeks equals the average per capita emissions of an African for an entire year. Given that the Brits' per capita figures are half a Canadian's, that means it takes just one week for Canada's GHG emissions, taken on a per capita scale, to equal the average African's GHG emissions for an entire year.
The irony, of course, is that these people whose GHG emissions are so negligible tend to reside in the poorest and most vulnerable regions that will be the first lands to become uninhabitable largely thanks to the developed world/major emitters and the indifference of their populations.
You won't find a Canadian prime minister of either sullied stripe acknowledging what Canada's "just go for it" energy policy aimed at flooding world markets with low-value/high-carbon bitumen will very soon mean for those folks in Africa or, much closer to home, the people already reeling from climate change in Central America. When the conversation turns to our incredible fossil bounty you will never hear words such as 'dislocation', 'migration', or 'death.'
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
.. hope the wicked BC snows & winds did not hammer you too hard.. my family is more centrally located .. Nelson area.. and several off the grid anyway.. only grizzly and cougar the big concern, but always have 2 or 3 long haired Alsations on the job.. plus they have all the snow management gear & experience
Re your post though.. Canadians are poorly served via 'government' at any level essentially. To pretend BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario are in any way 'world class' in any way re greenhouse gases is simply laughable. Classic left hand does not know or care what right hand doing.. despite all the money spent or lied about.
We know, but just to a certain extent how deeply 'the industry' or its proxies will obscure the facts. That's completely understandable.. and would put whistleblowers out of business. Jason Kenney has to be the current fantasy frontrunner after inheriting the mantle of Ms Notely, the late Mr Prentice, Ms Redford et al ad infinitum. The Alberta Energy Regulator puts on a great front.. and MainMedia duly and dully reflects the propaganda.. reminds me of the tobacco, asbestos, NRA garbage they all pretend is 'fact'. Presumably this tactic has been status quo in British Columbia .. Certainly at the federal level the echo chamber is singing from the same songsheet
We're looking at 60-90 mm of rain today, Sal, so snow won't be an issue where I live. The interior - different story.
It's dispiriting to see Canada's energy policy mirror the former policy we had on asbestos exports. We were quick enough to ban it for domestic use but, for the little brown people abroad, meh.
It takes a hefty dose of cognitive dissonance to manage to mask the global consequences of our domestic policy. Liberals, like their Tory counterparts, are highly adept at that.
Post a Comment