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Greenpeace outlines positive role for Canada at UN conference in Poznan

Page - December 5, 2008
Greenpeace is calling on the Canadian government to play a positive role in discussions at the United Nations climate change conference in Poznan, Poland from Dec. 1 to 12, 2008. The Poznan conference sets the stage for the historic climate change conference in Copenhagen in December 2009 where the UN will seek agreement to strengthen and extend the Kyoto Protocol.

Canada must support international efforts to agree on long-term goals for reducing global greenhouse gas emissions so that the world avoids catastrophic climate change.
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Greenpeace projected a 15 square meter message onto Parliament Hill that read "Wanted: Climate leaders". The message highlights the third anniversary of the Kyoto protocol and the lack of leadership of the Harper Government in effectively addressing climate change.

Since signing the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, Canada has done almost nothing to fight global warming. Greenhouse gas emissions are now nearly 30 per cent higher than Canada's target under the Protocol. With the unchecked development of the tar sands, Canada's emissions will get worse and the difficulty of reducing emissions will increase.

In order to play a leadership role in Poznan and in the discussions leading to the Copenhagen conference, Canada must:

  • Adopt a science-based target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to help prevent catastrophic climate change and threats to people and the environment
  • Implement an action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020
  • Agree to binding emissions reductions of 25 to 40 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020 for all developed countries
  • Agree to long-term emissions reductions of at least 80 per cent from 1990 levels by 2050
  • Support a Forest Fund for developing countries to reduce deforestation and forest degradation
  • Help developing countries financially to adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects
  • Fund the transfer of green technology to developing countries
  • Support the development in Poznan of a draft agreement that will be the basis for real negotiations during 2009 to strengthen and extend the Kyoto Protocol in Copenhagen
  • Help ensure that the world keeps the rise in global temperatures as far below 2 degrees Celsius as possible

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