political climate

"US cars produce more CO2 than all but 4 countries in the world. Those countries are: US, China, Russia and Japan."

• political history of climate change
• what is Canada's role in climate change?
• what is Canada's strategy for dealing with climate change?
• what's wrong with procrastination?
• what does this mean for Canadians?

charting the political history of climate change:

1827	French scientist Fourier identifies the "greenhouse effect"
1900	Svent Arrhenius postulates that the growing volume of C02 emitted in the Industrial Revolution would cause the earth's temperature to rise
1957	global measurement of CO2 begins
1967	M.I.T. releases its study on climate change
1970	Secretary General of United Nations warns of the possibility of "catastrophic warming"
1979	1st World Climate Conference
1988	Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is established
1990	First assessment report published by the IPCC
1991	First meeting to discuss a convention on climate change
1992	The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is signed in Rio
1993	The UNFCCC is ratified by 50 countries
1995	1st Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC, Berlin
1995	IPCC releases second assessment report: "the balance of evidence suggests a discernable human influence on global climate"
1996	COP 2, Geneva
1997	COP 3, Kyoto. The Kyoto Protocol is signed by 150 countries.
1998	COP 4, Buenos Aires
1999	COP 5, Bonn
2000	COP 6, The Hague

Highlights:

COP 3: Kyoto
December, 1997

1. Commitments on the part of developed nations to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by a percentage below 1990 levels. These commitments include:

   Canada	-6
   United States	-7
   Australia	+8
   European Union	-8
   Iceland	+10
   Japan	-6
   New Zealand	+1
   Norway	0
   Switzerland	-8

2. The grounds upon which these reductions would be recognized, and the tools (essentially loopholes) available to nations that will enable them to achieve these commitments without actually having to reduce their emissions. Some of these tools include:
   • emissions credit trading
   • Joint Implementation programs
   • Clean Development Mechanism
   • carbon sequestration

COP 6: The Hague
November 13-24, 2000

click here for background and eyewitness reports!

what is Canada's role in climate change?

1. Canadians consume more energy per capita than any other country
2. Canadians are the third largest per capital producers of greenhouse gases in the world

what is Canada's strategy for dealing with climate change?

Canada's approach to climate change can be described in one word: passive.
the federal government is currently engaged in a very slow process to implement a national strategy to counter climate change and meet the targets set out in the kyoto protocol. the process is titled the National Climate Change Program(NCCP) and involves integrating the reports and recommendations of sixteen sector- based Issues Tables into a coherent strategy. the program's mandate is to tackle climate change with as little change to the current economy and social structures as possible.

humming... while Canada waits to review these reports in the coming year, the level of greenhouse gas emissions is rapidly increasing. this means that the federal government is making it even more difficult to make headway on climate change as it delays direct action.

and hawing... in addition, it would appear that the federal government is attempting to counter climate change while maintaining its status as one of the world's biggest consumers, both of energy and goods, simply by maintaining a flexible and cost-effective strategy above all else.

and dodging! finally, the NCCP holds in the highest regard the flexibility mechanisms of the protocol as being absolutely critical to our success in meeting 6% emissions reductions. by making these mechanisms paramount, the NCCP is, however inadvertently, undermining the need for domestic action in curbing climate change.

what's wrong with procrastination?

what does this mean for Canadians?

in short, Canadians are responsible for the lion's share of global emissions but do not, so far, have the political leadership to counter the effects of this contribution. the climate change caravan project seeks to bring about the ideas and the initiative that will enable canadians to effectively reduce our greenhouse gas emissions whilst simultaneously making our collective voice loud enough to reach the government officials responsible for creating a national strategy on this issue.

useful links:

• eyewitness accounts from the hague!
• the political climate in recent months!