Canada is Ambitious like Tiger Woods is Faithful
Today is the first day of the UN Climate Change talks. And the Canadian Delegation starts it with our usual flair.
In today’s briefing meeting with head of the Canadian Negotiating meeting, Michael Martin had some interesting things to say. My favourite is the direct quote from below.
“Fundamentally, we believe that what Canada is proposing to do is ambitious.”
I wonder what definition of ambitious he is familiar with?
Let’s recap what Canada is proposing:
- A 3 per cent reductions target below 1990 levels
- No action plan to achieve even a 3 per cent reduction
- We are one of the only countries pushing against a 1990 base line level, and instead are insisting that we use a 2006 baseline – a year with huge economic activity and high emissions
- Even developing countries have more ambitious targets then us (India: 20-25 per cent, Indonesia 26 per cent, Brazil 28 per cent)
- The US has climate legislation in the house, targets much more ambitious then ours and invests 14 times more in renewable energy development
Soooooooooo does that sound ambitious to you?
Maybe if you are talking about growing the Tar Sands as fast as possible, but definitely not when it comes to climate action.
What really gets me is that increasing our targets is not even ambitious – it is doing the bare minimum needed to ensure the survival of our species. And if we do not take action we are going to be responsible for a whole lot of chaos for vulnerable people all over the world.
By Tria Donaldson, member of the Copenhagen Youth Delegation and Sierra Club BC Board member
