Alberta’s champion strikes again
OAKVILLE, ONT.—Former prime minister Stephen Harper recently executed a vintage Stephen-Harperian-style move. While speaking to a think tank, he vigorously defended the interests of Alberta. More specifically, Harper castigated the Liberal government’s climate-change-fighting plans arguing they unfairly targeted his home province. As he put it, “Obviously, the way some things are being handled today—where certain […]
The big bold lie politicians are telling themselves
GIBSONS, B.C.—Climate change is unequivocal and every party needs a climate plan. But those still trying to save the economy from needed climate mitigation are firmly in control. The dividing line now is between those who believe it is possible to reduce emissions in incremental ways while continuing political and economic business as usual, and […]
Canada should create a green impact fund for technology
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made a splash at COP26, boasting about how Canada will reduce its emissions, including capping emissions from the oil and gas sector. This effort, however, may be wasted if we fail to bring along the rest of the world. We urgently need a new mechanism to support the diffusion of the […]
Moving from COP26 talks to action: sustainable forestry key to combatting climate change
More than 130 world leaders took a major step forward at the COP26 climate talks in Glasgow by recognizing the importance of forests in the urgent fight against climate change. The leaders, representing more than 90 per cent of the world’s forests, have committed to work together to halt and reverse forest loss and land […]
Canada fails to ‘walk the walk’ on emissions targets despite lofty summit pledges, COP26 delegates say
Despite making bold commitments at COP26, Canada has not demonstrated a desire to advance meaningful action at home on reducing emissions or take on the fossil fuel industry, say the NDP and Green Party environment critics. “It just shows so starkly how our priorities are out of whack and how despite the repeated commitments made […]
One of these things is not like the other: Saskatchewan push for autonomy won’t play out like Quebec’s, say analysts
Despite a renewed push for autonomy and cultural distinction in Saskatchewan, experts say it won’t play out like the situation in Quebec, and that there is likely not much chance of anything happening, even if popular support and jurisdictional power does exist to make it so. On Nov. 7, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe called for […]
Cop out: climate pact a dereliction of global duty
OTTAWA—“In a way, Boris Johnson was the perfect host for COP26. The British prime minister specializes in groundless optimism and empty pledges. The Glasgow climate summit produced plenty of both.” What an indictment of the fecklessness of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26), delivered by the Financial Times, which ended in a watered-down […]
Canada’s contribution to Three Amigos summit needs to go beyond trade concerns: experts
The Three Amigos summit may not have the same warmth as the last time the leaders of Canada, Mexico, and the United States met in Ottawa in 2016, with Canada expected to raise its trade concerns at the first North American Leaders’ Summit in five years. Experts in the Canada-U.S. relationship say they don’t expect […]
Backtracking coal targets a COP26 failure, but summit still brings hope
LONDON, U.K.—Closing the two-week COP26 climate summit in Glasgow on Nov. 13, Alok Sharma, the British president of the 197-country conference, declared “We’ve kept 1.5 [degrees Celsius] within reach, but its pulse is weak.” But he was close to tears several times in his closing remarks. That was not because the 40,000-delegate meeting was a […]
Where are the strings attached to the money committed to net-zero transformation?
Finance was one of the main themes of COP26. Most notable was Mark Carney’s announcement of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) commitment of more than $130-trillion in private capital to transform the economy towards net-zero emissions. But the next day, Bloomberg Green warned that the bankers committing to “net-zero” targets don’t agree on what […]
