Kyoto: The bottom line on climate change

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Greenpeace activists confront Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn with the fact that his government has still not committed to meeting Canada’s legal obligation for greenhouse gas reductions under the Kyoto Protocol. Activists were joined by a polar bear carrying a placard asking “What About Kyoto?”.

Climate change has gone to parliamentary committee. It may seem that the politicians are fiddling around while the planet burns, but Greenpeace's non-partisan position is, if the different parties currently revamping the totally inadequate Clean Air Act want to best each other over global warming and what to do about it, all the better for the environment.

However, Greenpeace, in concert with other environmental organizations, has some fundamental demands. As well as concrete measures, the political will is needed to address the climatic chaos that has engulfed Canadians this winter with its record warm temperatures, melting ice sheets, and ferocious wind storms on the west coast.

First and foremost, Prime Minister Stephen Harper must acknowledge the reality of global warming and that the Earth is heating up as a consequence of humans burning fossil fuels. For those glued to the weather channel, this may seem too fundamental, but the Prime Minister had been a steadfast skeptic until he read the polls which found the environment and specifically global warming the most important issues for Canadians. He has seen the political reality of climate change; now he must see the physical reality. If this is a big jump for him, he need only look north to Canada's melting Arctic.

Once he has finally got a grip on this reality, then the Prime Minister must reassure the rest of the planet that Canada is committed to meeting its obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. To do less would undermine this international treaty and allow other countries to renege on their obligations to reduce emissions, with the excuse that if Canada, a rich, first world country, can't do it, how can they. Any re-worked Clean Air Act must indicate that Canada's first goal is the implementation of our Kyoto commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. In addition to fulfilling our Kyoto commitment, the Clean Air Act must include a long-term target to reduce domestic emissions by at least 80 per cent below 1990 levels by the year 2050.

To do this, we need an interim target to reduce emission by at least 25 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020. As it is, right now there are no short-term targets and only an insufficient goal of reducing emission by 65 per cent below current levels by 2050.

To ensure that these essential targets can be reached, Greenpeace has made a number of recommendations:

• Targets should be set to improve energy efficiency and standards should be imposed on all products that currently require excessive energy. 
•  Emissions from motor vehicles must be regulated to meet by 2010 the highest standards in North American, currently set by California. 
•  Emissions from heavy industry must be capped and set limits imposed by 2008. 
•  We want to see the government put its money where its mouth is by including specific allocations in all budgets for climate change programs. 
•  An arms length agency should be established that would independently facilitate and implement domestic efforts to reduce emissions. 
•  In addition to legislative changes, a variety of programs are needed to aggressively promote renewable energy and conservation programs.

But above all else Canada must meet its commitments to the Kyoto Protocol. Nothing less is acceptable.