What shall we do with the climate refugees?
LONDON, U.K.—You wait ages for the bus, and then three come along at once. Books are a bit like that, too, although in this case it’s only a pair of them, both tackling the question of what to do about all the climate refugees. (The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration estimates that 1.5 billion […]
Canada’s National Adaptation Strategy will be too little, too late without action now
Environment and Climate Change Canada is now racing against time to deliver Canada’s first National Adaptation Strategy. With 10 weeks to go before nations table their adaptation strategies at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, advisory tables set up to support development of a Canadian approach have yet to see a draft strategy. Last fall, Environment […]
To ‘build back better,’ Canadians need a shared purpose
TORONTO—If we are to ‘build back better’ as a country, Canadians need unifying goals and projects to show how a better future is possible. We also need credible evidence to demonstrate that we are headed in the right direction. Today, we don’t have much confidence that we are on the right track. We have a […]
Canada-U.S. co-operation key to unlocking shared climate success
Canadians woke up this week to some good news on the climate front from south of the 49th parallel. Canada’s biggest trading partner—the United States—has enacted new legislation that will include major funding for new policies that help deliver clean air, clean energy and green jobs. This is a big deal for the U.S., for […]
Government should ‘hold firm’ on compliance with emissions caps and reduction deadlines for oil and gas sector, say environmentalists
As Canada’s four biggest oil companies reported a nearly threefold increase in Q2 profits over last year, environmentalists are calling on the government to hold firm on its emission reduction targets, arguing the industry’s case for more time “just doesn’t hold water.” Keith Brooks, program director for Environmental Defence, told The Hill Times that the […]
Tory tango: Quebec Senator Larry Smith joins the Canadian Senators Group
Quebec Senator Larry Smith has left the Conservative Senate caucus to join the Canadian Senators Group, a move announced last week on Twitter and later confirmed by the CBC. “As a widely recognized and respected figure in Quebec, @SenLWSmith has contributed greatly to his home province and our country through his efforts in sports, business and […]
Young people are ready to change the world. Will leaders let them?
The expectations on leaders to deliver bold solutions at the G7 this June were big: solutions for looming famine, climate ambition, pandemic preparedness, and runaway inflation were anticipated. Ultimately, the summit recognized the challenge of the moment, but unfortunately, did not rise to the occasion with the necessary solutions. This summit was just the latest […]
Federal fight against climate change stops at the oil patch
CHELSEA, QUE.—Is there anyone in Canada—anyone?—who believes that Justin Trudeau’s government is serious about tackling climate change? It seems unlikely, given the ongoing failure to contain emissions from Alberta’s oil patch, the single largest domestic source of the greenhouse gases that are damaging our planet. That failure continues as oil companies amass record-breaking profits, while […]
Climate change is the greatest existential threat facing mankind, but you wouldn’t know it from the Conservative leadership race
TORONTO—The world seems to be on fire this summer as record-breaking temperatures are causing death and destruction on every continent. Unless the world acts with much greater determination, the future can only get worse, with climate change the greatest existential threat facing mankind. This is why the need to act now is urgent and Canada […]
The ‘apparently unstoppable global drift to climate catastrophe,’ indeed
GIBSONS, B.C.—Following the release of the three Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change assessment reports and the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, climate change dropped off the media map this year. In that context, this climate activist switched focus to lobbying energy and climate insiders and journalists. Back in March, I suggested that there are three thresholds […]
