The Council of Canadians Peterborough-Kawarthas chapter joined a protest of 100+ people yesterday for a local Act Now on Climate Change rally.
The Peterborough Examiner reports, “Hosted by the Peterborough Greenspace Coalition, they aimed to send a message to premiers attending meetings in Quebec City next week to discuss the climate in preparation for the UN Global Climate Summit in Paris later this year. Called the Act Now on Climate Change rally, it coincided with a larger march taking place in Quebec City and other events across Canada this day.”
In this news article, Council of Canadians Peterborough-Kawarthas chapter activist and Board member Roy Brady comments, “A global problem will eventually become local and people have to be aware of that. We have only one planet. What is being done is dangerous.”
Brady’s comment is backed up by the latest report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that without further action the world will see a dangerous rise in global temperature of between 0.3 degrees Celsius and 4.8 degrees Celsius by the late 21st century.
This weekend, CTV reported, “The Conservatives missed the March deadline for countries to submit emissions reduction targets ahead of the Paris conference. [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper said that the Canadian government wants to see what comes of the provincial talks before releasing federal benchmarks.”
Last week, the Globe and Mail reported, “Ontario is aiming to reduce its emissions by 27.5 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020, or a decline of 57 megatonnes a year. …[But Alberta’s] target is to increase GHG output by only 10 per cent between 2005 and 2020; the projected 55-megatonne rise mirrors nearly exactly Ontario’s planned reduction. …Since 1990, Alberta has contributed 73 per cent of Canada’s GHG emission growth, and Saskatchewan 27 per cent, while both Ontario and Quebec have reduced emissions.”
CTV also reports, “[Harper says] that Canada will unveils its greenhouse gas emission targets before the G7 meetings in June.” The Globe and Mail has noted that documents submitted by the Harper government to the UN in December 2013, “show that, without further policy action, Canada’s emissions would be 734 megatonnes by 2020, or 20 per cent higher than the target of 612 megatonnes.” In December, Harper said that it would be “crazy” to regulate carbon emissions in the oil sector given the drop in price for crude oil.
For more on the Council of Canadians energy and climate justice campaign, please click here.