Autumn fog descends on Ottawa...

The world’s been busy. Leaders have been flying around, bilateral discussions are popping up all over the place, and even the US is building up domestic targets and legislation. Despite lethargic announcements by a few countries at the APEC summit last week, many countries have ramped up their expectations for Copenhagen and don’t look likely to back down – Brazil is a prominent example.

Back at home in Canada, things are heating up – while Ottawa is typically foggy.

Stephen Harper has said he is not likely to show up in Copenhagen, unless of course, other leaders go too (always a team player!).

Environment Minister Jim Prentice explained Canada’s position on the talks to the Globe and Mail. Prentice argued that ‘the best we can do is frame out the points of consensus, the points of disagreement and build and maintain some momentum around a shorter political agreement’. Ultimately, he suggests that a legal agreement could be likely in 2011. A key issue, of course, is Canada’s role as an energy superpower.

Minister Prentice does have a point here, no matter what agreement is reached, there will likely be increasing demand for Canada’s favourite high-carbon export. Granted, the tar sands are sticky, and there are no easy answers. But just because Canada’s role is complicated does not mean we take a backseat.

In fact, a recent poll showed over three quarters of Canadians are ‘chagrined’ at Canada’s role in the climate talks… inspiring a group of youth in Halifax to drop their pants in public.

Think this is embarrasing? Young people in Halifax drop their pants in a vain effort to distract from Canada's underwhelming climate performance.

Public pressure is on the rise. In breaking news, seven people were detained last night after a sit-in in Prentice’s office, demanding that Canada become a “Climate leader, not laggard”.

The Bloq Quebecois has presented a bill in Parliament that would bring targets in line with a maximum 2 degree rise in temperature, financially assist developing nations, and adopt the goal of 20% reductions below 1990 levels by 2020. It’ll be interesting to see what comes of that. Similar initiatives, like  Bill C311, have been caught indefinitely in the partisan windmill. Hopefully we can start getting over that. Could all this activity, from the sublime to the ridiculous, inspire our politicians?

Definitely, things are heating up in Canada. But better things heat up now politically, than later catastrophically…

With love, en route to Copenhagen

Rosa

Information on Bill C-311 from Wikipedia.org

The Climate Change Accountability Act was originally tabled in October 2006 in the Canadian House of Commons as Bill C-377 by Jack Layton, Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada. It passed 3rd reading in that House with the support of caucuses of the Liberal Party of Canada, the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP (the Conservative Party of Canada, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, voted against it). However, due the 2008 Canadian federal election ending the parliamentary session prematurely, the bill did not achieve royal assent despite reaching the Senate. On February 10, 2009 Bruce Hyer, NDP MP for Thunder Bay-Superior North, seconded by Layton, reintroduced it as a Private Member’s Bill, renamed as Bill C-311. The Bill requires the Canadian federal government to set regulations to attain a medium-term target to bring emissions 25% below 1990 levels by 2020, and a long-term target to bring emissions 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. According to the summary, the purpose of this bill is:

“to ensure that Canada meets its global climate change obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by committing to a long-term target to reduce Canadian greenhouse gas emissions to a level that is 80% below the 1990 level by the year 2050, and by establishing interim targets for the period 2015 to 2045. It creates an obligation on the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to review proposed measures to meet the targets and submit a report to Parliament. It also sets out the duties of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy.”^[1]

The Climate Change Accountability Act is based on the Case for Deep Reductions report by the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy and on guidelines set by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. These are the same emissions targets adopted by the European Union and announced as objectives of U.S. President Obama’s New Energy For America strategy. The Bill is noteworthy in that it was the first legislation in the world to pass a democratically-elected parliament which mandated hard emissions reductions for the post-Kyoto Protocol period (after 2012).

Since there is much importance of Bill C-311 to be passed to ensure that Canada will no longer be using baseline targets which create weak emission reductions and are not inline with any of the other United Nations member states in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.  By taking a few minutes of your day you can show that democracy does infact work and help shape Canada’s role. So please take the time to call your local MP (search by postal code if you are not sure of who to contact) but you can also  call 1 (866) 599-4999 and ask to speak with any of the following committee members to let them know the importance of the Climate Change Accountability Act to Canadian citizens and the international community.

James Bezan ( Selkirk—Interlake, Manitoba, Conservative MP)

Peter Braid (Kitchener—Waterloo, Ontario, Conservative MP)

Blaine Calkins (Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Conservative MP)

Ruby Dhalla (Brampton—Springdale, Ontario, Liberal MP)

David McGuinty  (Ottawa South, Ontario, Liberal MP)

Francis Scarpaleggia ( Lac-Saint-Louis, Québec, Liberal MP)

Mark Warawa ( Langley, British Columbia, Conservative MP)

Jeffery Watson (Essex, Ontario, Conservative MP)

Stephen Woodworth (Kitchener Centre, Ontario, Conservative MP)

If you have never been in touch with your MP before you can watch the following video which showcases how easy of a process it is.

Said tights.

Among the most important memos of the 21st century (aside from ‘It’s highly respected to still know all the words to New Kids on the Block’s ‘Step by Step’” and ‘No, it’s not okay to wear tights as pants, especially the slitted ones from American Apparel.’) is: ‘All other governments in the developed world are doing way more on climate change than Canada’.

Memos are what they are. Pop culture stands strong, fads fade (or are imagined), and the ambition of government tends to fall out of their pocket unnoticeably as they run down the halls of Parliament to their next meeting.

Continue reading Slit-leggings at American Apparel and Current Climate Policy in Canada