Climate Change: Canada’s Conservatives didn’t entirely undo Kyoto

(But they sure keep on trying).

I've said a few things about climate change and global warming lately, and will say more, but it's time to direct you toward two recent articles that leave me in the dust.

Gwynne Dyer concluded a recent article entitled ‘Dithering Canada Faces Chaos’ (Dec. 19, London Free Press) by saying:

“Canadians, including the federal government, assume they will be OK no matter what happens on the climate front, so they can afford to put their other interests (like protecting the income from the tar sands) first. It is not true.”

His summary explains to some degree why Canada’s federal Conservative government is not following the right course as it continues to trumpet the economy at the expense of the environment.

However, in a recent post by Glen Pearson, federal Liberal Member of Parliament for London North-Centre, we see that the positive course set by many countries via the 1990 Kyoto Accord has not been entirely killed by Canada’s government.

In a post entitled ‘Kyoto Lives’ (Dec. 22) Mr. Pearson says the following:

“Despite Conservative claims that the Kyoto Accord was a meaningless document, it was fortunate that most other nations at the Copenhagen summit didn’t buy it. In fact, they haven’t bought into the Conservative agenda for years, as many of the world’s leading nations will reach, or come close to, the Kyoto 1990 targets.

“This country’s stark lack of leadership on the climate change file at Copenhagen has lowered our prestige even more in international opinion.

“In the words of a recent Globe and Mail editorial:

To be sure, Canada is not the only country failing to meet its targets, and was not the only obstacle to a more meaningful deal in Copenhagen. But among developed countries, it stood alone in its apparent apathy.”

It seems the Conservatives can’t quite seem to kill Kyoto, but they sure know how to kill our country’s prestige in the world and keep their apathy alive.

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If you visit Mr. Pearson’s website, please read The Copenhagen Cave as well. Very well written.

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