Barcelona Q&A with Mr. Martin

Posted on 06. Nov, 2009 by Rosa Kouri in Canada

Meeting in the cafeteria with Michael Martin and May Boeve, the 350.org North American Coordinator.

Thursday was a big day. In the evening, May Boeve joined me from the 350.org campaign – she’s their north american actions coordinator and did a bunch of work on the thousands of actions that happened on October 24th. We had a meeting with Michael Martin (Canada’s Chief Negotiator), and presented the results of over two hundred actions that happened across Canada on that day of action.

Afterwards, Mr. Martin was kind enough to answer some of the questions that I had collated from you, lovely readers, over the past few days.

Questions and answers are paraphrased, but every effort has been made to stay true to their original intent.

May presented a blown up image of the Calgary 350 action.

Q: Given the overwhelming public show of support for the 350 ppm goal, do you think this number could become a concrete target for climate mitigation policy in Canada?

Canada generally has not defined its policy goals in parts per million (ppm), but instead use reductions in total Greenhouse Gas Emissions. We will not announce higher targets than what was announced in 2007 (20% below 2006 levels by 2020). Our targets right now are ambitious given where we are today . We are currently 26% above our 1990 levels. Given this growth, we are not currently on a sustained reduction pathway, but we are trying to put in place the policies needed to be on that pathway. Given the need for deep global reductions, our goal for Copenhagen is to build the broadest possible participation in the global climate change regime.

Q: Do you, as a negotiator who must have a handle on the science, think that politicians in Ottawa are well-informed and knowledgeable about what the science calls for?

All our policy-making is based on science. We have 6500 staff at Environment Canada and more than half are scientists. Policy is complex and will be bounded in even the best possible scenarios. The policy process invariably involves economic and political considerations as well.

Q: How will Canada’s breach of its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol affect its credibility at the negotiations, and how will Canada be penalized for its breach?

Canada is not out of compliance with the Kyoto protocol. Our commitment period under review is not over until 2012, after which we have a two year period to gather data. On April 15th, 2014, we must submit our compiled five year emissions data, which is then subject to expert review. Finally, there will be a hundred day period where parties can take further actions to address any shortfall in their assigned amount. Compliance or non-compliance is only judged after that process is complete.

Q: What are the special circumstances you have been communicating on our behalf in negotiations that preclude Canada from taking on scientifically mandated targets?

This is due to a variety of questions, some of which are outlined in our submission in June. Population growth and energy production for export are two main factors.

That’s it for now!

Those were all the questions we had time to ask, and we thank Mr. Martin for giving us the time to answer them in the midst of negotiations. Thanks to the readers for submitting them.

Stay tuned, Friday’s the last day of the talks here and there’ll be more news to report.

Much love from Barcelona,

Rosa