Dave Martin at Fossil of the day where Canada won an unprecedented four “Fossil of the Day” on December 4th, 2008
Environmental groups attending the Poznan conference have universally said the lack of progress was a major missed opportunity.
Greenpeace and other groups wanted to see agreement by developing countries, like Canada, to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020. This is a science-based reduction target that climate scientists recommend.
Canada the obstructer:
In Poznan, environmental groups and many developing countries identified Canada as one of the biggest obstructionists.
Thanks to Canada, there was no agreement on the science-based cuts of 25 to 40 per cent. Rather, this minimum level of cuts is now an "interesting" objective for countries to consider.
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Continued Weak targets from Canada
Canada stood behind the Harper government's current reduction target---a cut of 20 per cent from 2006 levels by 2020. That might sound okay, but it's not. What this really means is that Canada is only committed to reducing emissions from 1990 levels by three per cent by 2020.
This target does not even meet the reductions of the Kyoto Protocol. Canada committed to reducing emissions by six per cent from 1990 levels by 2012 under the Protocol.
Canada was supposed to be in Poznan to help develop plans to strengthen and extend the Kyoto Protocol, not water it down.
Poznan was a crucial halfway point to the historic climate conference in Copenhagen next December where the UN will ask countries to develop the agreement that supplants the Kyoto Protocol.
Canada: the biggest fossil
Canada won the Colossal Fossil award, given to the country with the most Fossil of the Day awards. Canada had 10 Fossil of the Day awards, from Greenpeace and other environmental groups for blocking progress in the negotiations.
These awards recognize the real tragedy of the Harper government's position at Poznan; the backtracking on previous commitments to fighting global warming.
Two of Canada's fossil positions stand out.
One fossil was awarded because Canada said it hasn't reduced greenhouse gas emissions because ours is a big, cold country. Canada is no bigger and no colder than when it promised to honour the Kyoto Protocol.
Canada's emissions are about 30 per cent higher than our Kyoto target. The government has refused to honour the protocol.
Another fossil was awarded after Canada argued for a lower reduction target because of the emissions created by producing oil and gas for export. That's code for doing nothing to reduce emissions from the tar sands and makes a mockery of efforts to fight global warming.
Read more on the Fossil of the Year - Poznan 2008
Canadian Government Incidents
Environmentalists have accused Canada of forcing officials to take down a display by students targeting the dirty oil of the Alberta tar sands.
Canada also canceled at the last minute an appearance in Poznan by a leading federal government climate scientist. Reports indicate he was told he couldn't go while he was on his way to the airport.
What's Next?
The fight to get action on global warming isn't over. The Poznan conference did agree to more meetings to prepare for the crucial climate discussions in Copenhagen.
Canadians want action. A poll, recently commissioned by Canadian environmental groups, shows that 78 per cent want Canada to commit to science-based reduction targets and 83 per cent want Canada to take strong action on global warming without waiting for other countries.
We have one year to convince Canada to play a leadership role in fighting global warming at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen.