Dutch court ruling, changes to Big Oil boards bring good news on the climate front
LONDON, U.K.—“I see a huge and growing gap between the rhetoric and the reality,” said Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, two weeks ago, but he despaired a bit too soon. On May 26 a Dutch court ruled that Royal Dutch Shell, one of the world’s biggest oil companies, must cut its global […]
Budget 2021 boosts farmers tackling climate change
Like most Canadian farmers, I’ve experienced firsthand the disruptions that COVID-19 has brought to our sector, from labour shortages and supply chain problems to wild swings in market demand. This past year has been a challenge, but as farmers we are already dealing with a much bigger threat to agriculture and our livelihoods: climate change. […]
Urging Canada to do its fair share for international climate finance
“How can I use farming to get out of my desperation?” asks Mehsane Sahle, a small-scale farmer in the Benishangul-Gumuz region of Ethiopia. A mother of three in her late 50s, Mehsane’s livelihood depends on the crops and livestock she can raise on her small plot of land, but with poor soil, erratic rainfall, and […]
Time for Canada’s most progressive parties to set aside their differences for climate change
Climate scientists say the world needs to cut greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030 to avoid catastrophic global warming. In Canada, considering our historic emissions and wealth, experts say we should be aiming for 60 per cent. That would be daunting enough if we got serious about it today but, under Prime Minister Justin […]
A duty to protect: Canadian Senators stepping up for the planet
We, in the Senate of Canada, have a duty to protect our planet and its inhabitants from the threats of global warming. At the recent Biden Earth Day Summit on Climate Change, Canada committed to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 per cent by 2030. That’s only nine years from now. The […]
Feds’ climate solutions must include our oceans
On April 22, the United States formally reasserted itself in the global climate conversation with a commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 to 52 per cent relative to 2005 levels in less than a decade. The renewed climate commitment came with a strong message from U.S. President Joe Biden to the world’s largest […]
Jaccard offers up solid advice on what citizens can do to fight climate change
This leaves one last task on the simple path to climate success. We must be able to detect and elect climate-sincere politicians, and then pressure them to implement a few simple policies, such that any citizen can detect procrastination and evasion. The nature of this task crystalized for me a few years ago during the […]
Three takeaways from Joe Biden’s climate summit
GIBSONS, B.C.—One: America is back as a climate leader. Firmly putting the toxic Trump presidency behind us, the new Biden administration is not only showing leadership and competency in handling the pandemic, positioning the U.S. for a strong economic recovery, and endeavouring to lower rhetoric and tensions in a deeply divided America, but, most importantly, […]
Meeting Canada’s new emissions targets will require changes to land use, agriculture, and diets
The recent Leaders’ Summit on Climate brought bold statements and strengthened commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. and the EU promised cuts beyond previous pledges. While less aggressive, Canada announced it will cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 per cent to 45 per cent from 2005 levels in the next 10 years, significantly […]
Feds could face climate litigation over export-credit agency’s financing of fossil fuel projects, say advocates
The Trudeau government could be legally exposed due to its continued financing of carbon-intensive projects unless it takes steps to dramatically scale back this support given through an arm’s-length export-credit agency, according to a new international legal opinion commissioned by an environmental group. In a letter sent to International Trade Minister Mary Ng (Markham, Ont.) […]
