The ocean is missing
Declaring the ocean missing may sound strangely vainglorious, but its truth highlights one of the most critical blind spots facing the world today: missing ocean information undermines global climate projections, which could result in failure to meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius global-warming target limit. I attended COP26 in Glasgow to highlight the critical gap in ocean observing that puts us […]
Canada stuck in denial until MPs understand climate emergency requires deep systemic change
GIBSONS, B.C.—There is an important new climate science paper—Three Decades of Climate Mitigation: Why haven’t we bent the emissions curve?—that is very informative and especially pertinent to Hill Times readers. Why have we failed to properly mitigate climate change? In the paper, different teams of authors seeking the answer find consilience in how powerful actors […]
Environmental groups welcome mandate letters’ ‘whole-of-government’ approach to climate change, ‘huge list of priorities’ for Guilbeault
Environmental advocacy groups are pleased to see a “whole-of-government” approach to addressing climate change laid out in newly-released ministerial mandate letters that set the agenda for cabinet members and their departments. Multiple ministers across multiple departments have now been publicly tasked by the Prime Minister’s Office to work together to address an increasingly urgent climate […]
Bold climate action needs a basic income
Imagine three groups of people are lost at sea. One group is stuck on a big yacht. Another is spread across a flotilla of rowboats, all of them vulnerable to the next big wave. The third group is out in the open, treading water. This visual illustrates how our income shapes our ability to navigate […]
Canada needs a roadmap to show how to get to net zero by 2050
Imagine trying to find an exciting new restaurant in town when there is literally no information about its location: no roadmap, not found on Google maps, and everyone you ask gives you vague and conflicting—sometimes outright wrong—information about how to get there. That’s Canada’s current situation, except the prize at the end of the journey […]
Emergency management must be central to climate change response in the North
Robust emergency management capabilities must be a central component of climate change response plans in the North. From wildfires to flooding to the expansion of cruise tourism, the affects and results of climate change continue to exacerbate the risks posed by a broad spectrum of natural and human-made hazards throughout the region. The risks are […]
Inuit are battling an existential threat
Inuit face an existential threat and are experiencing a violation of our fundamental human right to a safe and healthy environment. That threat, of course, is climate change. Inuit Nunaat—our homeland—is changing beyond recognition. We are a marine people and rely on healthy ocean ecosystems for our very survival. Declining sea ice is the single […]
MP Fast calls for more help for Abbotsford: ‘many of these families have lost everything’
When asked to describe the situation in the flood-stricken riding of Abbotsford, Conservative MP Ed Fast used one word: “grave.” With three rounds of record-breaking November rainfall resulting in devastating flooding in his riding, Fast said the events of the last few weeks have been a “rollercoaster of emotions” for his constituents, as “each time […]
What does the COP26 agreement to stop or reduce deforestation mean for Canada?
Recently, more than 100 world leaders attending the COP26 climate summit have promised to end deforestation by 2030, Canada among them. While this commitment shows promise, it will be challenging to achieve. Canada is rich in forests, with over 347 million hectares and approximately nine per cent of the world’s forests. Canada does not lose a lot of […]
View climate change as national security issue, says Green, NDP MPs
Calls from opposition parties for the Liberal government to treat climate change as a national security threat are increasing in the aftermath of a recent flooding crisis in British Columbia where hundreds of troops were deployed to provide emergency assistance and flood cleanup. “Increasingly our Canadian Armed Forces are being called upon to respond to […]
