Every late November there is a gathering. People who seldom see each other come together to bicker, argue and fein agreement. No, I am not talking about Thanksgiving, but rather the upcoming round of United Nations climate change talks in Durban, South Africa. But like Thanksgiving dinner, there is always one uncle who shows up and ruins the whole affair.
Here in Durban, that's Canada.
Since 2006, the Government of Canada has positioned itself as one of the most obstructive forces when it comes to global action on climate change. It currently stands alone as the only nation to weaken its international commitments after the Copenhagen conference; this after it stood alone as the only nation to renounce its commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.
So why the shift when as recently as 2005 Canada was internationally celebrated for forging a pathway towards a global deal in Montreal?
A hint? Its a massive scar in the Earth that can be seen from space. With the potential to line the pockets of Canada's oil barons and the potential to drive us closer to climatic tipping points the Government of Canada has chosen the former. Our leaders have decided to protect the short-term gains of our fossil fuel-driven economy in lieu of ensuring my generation, and those that will follow, a just and sustainable future. In short, Canada has decided to put polluters ahead of people.
In the last year alone, Canada has been outed internationally for its efforts lobbying on behalf of the oil patch. In Europe, the government has joined with oil companies to try and submarine the European Union's Fuel Quality Directive, a step towards reducing emissions from Europe's transportation sector. At the same time our government has dispatched agents to try and force the Keystone XL into the United States, despite the massive upswell of resistance all along the pipeline route, and across the country.
The impacts of climate change, and the extractive industries that are driving it's expansion, are threatening the lives and livelihoods of people here and now. Canada faces a choice. Will it continue to labour in defence of an industry driving one of the greatest crises of our generation while the world leaves us behind? Or will we make the shift to a just, sustainable and green economy that puts the needs of all people ahead of the wants of a few major polluters?
At the global table, we're tired of watching our government play the role of the unwanted dinner guest. We're not willing to simply sit at the kids table and watch them mortgage our future to protect the fossil fuel regime. Canada needs an oil change, and if our government wont do it, you bet we will.
Cameron Fenton is part of the Canadian Youth Delegation currently in Durban, South Africa for the United Nations COP17 Climate Change Conference.
Follow Cameron Fenton on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CamFenton
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Phoney science and slick snake oil salesmen were the standard bearers of this charade.
If the Harper govt. does nothing else for the rest of the sitting , at least will go down as a common sense action amidst a sea of enviro creationism.
Yes it does face a choice Does it want to develop one of the most energy intensive resources on the planet, create thousands and thousands of jobs , across Canada, for many years into the future,bringing prosperity in a shaky world, or does it want to threaten the lives and livlihoods of all these involved, by listening to rabid environmentalists, funded mainy from shadowy private corporations in the US. ?
Canadians are going for the common sense , and jobs route !
A Question for you . You own an enclosed sportsdome full of trees . You and your family live in the sportsdome . You earn income removing trees and replacing them with running vehicles . How wealthy will you and your family be ????
The Copenhagen treaty would have imposed tough new regulations on ou clean industry, and let the much higher polluting industry in China have a pass.
So more clean factories would close here, and more dirty factories would open in China.
Overall pollution would increase, not decrease.
Chinese industry pollutes about 20% more per unit of production.
This latest treaty is no different, it will simply force more production to move from the clean factories here to the much higher polluting factories in China.
And then there will be the increased pollution from shipping more raw materials to China and shipping the finished products back here.
Funny how the greens want us to buy out vegetables locally to reduce pollution from transporting them, but they want us to buy our steel from China.
TIP OF THE DAY!!!
Read the actual proposals!
Canada want's everyone to reduce pollution.
Dumb hippies want to give the highest polluting industry to pollute even more.
Maybe if we subsidized our Green industries instead of the fossil fuel industry maybe the Green energy sector would flourish much like the Oil Sands does.
Nah! that won't work it could actually affect the production of oil so that would be a no go!