Especially noteworthy is the willingness of Toronto Mayor David
Miller to attend the Fossil Awards Ceremonies to accept these
non-prestigious awards on behalf of Canada.
"It is with disappointment and regret that I receive both the
first and second place Fossil awards today," said Toronto Mayor
David Miller, Chair of the C40 climate leadership group. "As Mayor
of Canada's largest city, I can assure the rest of the world that
there is leadership in Canada. Provincial and Municipal governments
are
taking climate change seriously even as the federal government
is lagging. We must send the Harper government the message that
Canadians find this unacceptable and we want real action in
Copenhagen. We expect the government to support a fair, ambitious
and binding deal."
1st place Fossil Award:
It doesn't get much more Fossil worthy than this: Canada's
Environment Minister, Jim Prentice, said yesterday that "it's in
Canada's interests to replace the Kyoto Protocol with a new
agreement." He didn't explain whether that's because he's scared to
face Kyoto's compliance committee, or because he's hoping no one
will notice that Canada's current 2020 target (3% below 1990) is
weaker than the one it
promised to meet under Kyoto (6%).
2nd place Fossil Award:
Canada's chief negotiator insisted today that his country's
target of -3% below 1990 are, in fact, based on science. Last we
checked, the IPCC scientific community called for 25-40% emission
reductions below 1990 levels. The Fossil Supreme Command Council
can only conclude that he wasn't referring to climate science at
all, but rather the science of mathematics--because -3% is, indeed,
a number. (Although a very small one.) Speaking of math, Canada
already promised in the Kyoto Protocol to go to -6% from 1990
levels. Oops!
Further, when the chief negotiator was asked this morning if he
believed Canada's so called "science based-target" would protect
melting summer sea-ice in the North West passage, he responded
quite accurately that he is not a scientist and therefore cannot
predict sea-ice.
It also appears that Canada's environment minister is suffering
a serious case of CAN envy. Yesterday, he invented his own prize,
the Hot Air of the Day Award, and tried to give it to a Canadian
environmental group. It's a true honor to be recognized for hot air
by this government, who are absolute masters at it themselves, but
sadly
we have to decline. Sorry Minister, but you're going to have to
sign on to a fair, ambitious and binding deal before we'll consider
your application to CAN.
Fossil of the Day will be presented daily in Copenhagen from a
network of over 400 leading international non-governmental
organizations following a vote to determine which country had done
the most over the course of the day to delay, stall, and otherwise
disrupt this crucial negotiating sessions in Copenhagen in
December.
www.fossiloftheday.com
For media and interview opportunities and further member
contacts in
Copenhagen and Canada please contact:
Hannah McKinnon
hmckinnon@climateactionnetwork.ca
+45 2553 6081
Marie-Ève Roy
mroy@equiterre.org
+45 4163 3795