• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
The climate news that makes a difference.
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
No Result
View All Result
The Energy Mix
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities
  FEATURED
BREAKING: Federal Budget Pours Tens of Billions Into Clean Economy March 28, 2023
Somali Canadians Aid Drought-Stricken Homeland as 43,000 Reported Dead March 26, 2023
B.C.’s New Energy Framework a ‘Smokescreen,’ Critic Warns March 26, 2023
SPECIAL REPORT: ‘Defuse the Climate Time Bomb’ with Net-Zero by 2040, Guterres Urges G20 March 20, 2023
Devastating Impacts, Affordable Climate Solutions Drive IPCC’s Urgent Call for Action March 20, 2023
Next
Prev

Throne Speech in Ottawa, COP Negotiations in Madrid Raise Pressure on Canada for Climate Action

December 4, 2019
Reading time: 4 minutes
Primary Author: Mitchell Beer @mitchellbeer

Ray Meroniuk/Twitter

Ray Meroniuk/Twitter

69
SHARES
 

With a much-anticipated Speech from the Throne taking place tomorrow in Ottawa, and United Nations climate negotiations under way in Madrid, the Trudeau government is under sustained pressure to make climate action a priority at home and do its fair share internationally to limit average global warming to 1.5°C.

In Ottawa this week, the Green Economy Network (GEN) called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to “make climate job creation a priority through investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and green buildings, public transit, and higher-speed rail transit,” states a release on GlobeNewswire.

  • Be among the first to read The Energy Mix Weekender
  • A brand new weekly digest containing exclusive and essential climate stories from around the world.
  • The Weekender:The climate news you need.
Subscribe

“We’ll be looking for a clear signal from the government that it is prepared to invest in the climate jobs Canada needs to transition to the green economy of tomorrow,” said Canadian Labour Congress President Hassan Yussuff, who co-chaired the federal just transition task force in 2018-19. “The climate crisis is real, and the government must invest in the future of Canadian workers and their communities by making climate action a top priority for the upcoming mandate.”

“In this election, Canadians voted for ambitious climate action,” said Climate Action Network-Canada (CAN-Rac) Executive Director Catherine Abreu. “They elected a majority of Members to the House of Commons that support significant investment in a cleaner economy. We need to start a real conversation about economic diversification and good, clean jobs, and implement climate solutions that touch people’s everyday lives. This government has a clear mandate to make these long overdue investments.”

“Study after study has shown that Canada can create over a million climate jobs and substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provided that governments lead the way with targeted investment strategies,” added GEN convener Tony Clarke. “We just need the political will to do it.”

In Madrid, meanwhile, CAN-Rac released an assessment of Canada’s fair-share responsibility in the drive to 1.5°C as the world’s ninth-largest greenhouse gas emitter, its 10th-richest country, and a nation with a “moral obligation to protect human rights, which are threatened by climate change.” The release calls for Canada to cut emissions 60% from 2005 levels by 2030—double the country’s current, Harper-era target—aim for net zero domestic emissions as soon as possible before 2050, and contribute US$4 billion per year to international climate finance beginning in 2020.

“Canada has substantially contributed to the global buildup of greenhouse gas pollution in the atmosphere for over a century, and continues doing so today, reaping enormous economic benefits but also accumulating a substantial carbon debt,” the release states. “This means that Canada bears a large responsibility for creating the climate crisis and, as a wealthy country, possesses considerable capacity to act to address it.”

The release specifies nearly a dozen steps Canada must take, domestically and internationally, to live up to its fair-share responsibilities on climate. The list includes phasing out fossil subsidies, transforming transportation through fuel efficiency and electrification, greening buildings, protecting and enhancing natural carbon sinks, helping poor countries overcome energy poverty while leapfrogging fossil fuels, and eliminating tropical deforestation while upholding Indigenous rights.

But with the political realities of a minority parliament set to hit the floor of the Canadian Senate tomorrow afternoon, when Governor General Julie Payette reads the Trudeau government’s Throne Speech, news reporting and commentary point to the long, tough slog that will likely be needed to deliver on the climate community’s expectations. On The Hill Times [subs req’d], veteran reporter Susan Riley questions whether Trudeau’s climate action will ever match his rhetoric. In the Toronto Star, columnist Chantal Hébert points to climate change as the biggest threat the incoming government faces.

“If Trudeau is serious about rebuilding bridges with Alberta and Saskatchewan, his agenda-setting speech will not be silent on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion,” she writes. “By the same token though, the two out of three Canadians who supported a party other than the Conservatives should rightly expect a bit more than bromides about climate change.”

On paper, “the makeup of this Parliament should translate into impetus for more decisive environmental action,” Hébert adds. “But on that score, the message from the realignment of the cabinet was muddled—presumably as a result of Trudeau’s determination to not ruffle more feathers in the Prairies.” The Throne Speech will be the measure of the government’s commitment to climate action, she adds, and  “it is a sign of the times that Trudeau’s minority government may be the first whose actions—or inaction—on climate change could determine its longevity.”



in Canada, Community Climate Finance, COP Conferences, Ending Emissions, Energy Politics, Jobs & Training

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

kelly8843496 / Pixabay
Finance & Investment

BREAKING: Federal Budget Pours Tens of Billions Into Clean Economy

March 29, 2023
610
TruckPR/flickr
Hydrogen

Opinion: Hydrogen Hype Sabotages Potential to Decarbonize

March 28, 2023
370
icondigital/pixabay
Supply Chains & Consumption

New Federal Procurement Rule Requires Biggest Bidders to Report Net-Zero Plans

March 28, 2023
182

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Trending Stories

kelly8843496 / Pixabay

BREAKING: Federal Budget Pours Tens of Billions Into Clean Economy

March 29, 2023
610
Faye Cornish/Unsplash

Abundance, Not Austerity: Reframe the Climate Narrative, Solnit Urges

March 26, 2023
146
TruckPR/flickr

Opinion: Hydrogen Hype Sabotages Potential to Decarbonize

March 28, 2023
370
Σ64/Wikimedia Commons

B.C.’s New Energy Framework a ‘Smokescreen,’ Critic Warns

March 28, 2023
59
icondigital/pixabay

New Federal Procurement Rule Requires Biggest Bidders to Report Net-Zero Plans

March 28, 2023
182
U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement/flickr

Willow Oil Project in Alaska Faces Legal Challenges, Economic Doubts

March 19, 2023
754

Recent Posts

UNICEF Ethiopia/flickr

Somali Canadians Aid Drought-Stricken Homeland as 43,000 Reported Dead

March 29, 2023
36
Prime Minister's Office/flickr

Biden’s Ottawa Visit Highlights EVs, Clean Grid, Critical Minerals

March 28, 2023
86
EUMETSAT/wikimedia commons

Cyclone Freddy Leaves Over 500 Dead on Africa’s Southeast Coast

March 23, 2023
63
Kern River Valley Fire Info/Facebook

SPECIAL REPORT: ‘Defuse the Climate Time Bomb’ with Net-Zero by 2040, Guterres Urges G20

March 20, 2023
339
IFRC Intl. Federation:Twitter

Devastating Impacts, Affordable Climate Solutions Drive IPCC’s Urgent Call for Action

March 21, 2023
1k
U.S. National Park Service/rawpixel

Window for 1.5°C ‘Rapidly Closing’, IPCC Warns

March 20, 2023
97
Next Post
Brian Robert Marshall/Geograph

‘Transformational Ramping Up’ Can Deliver 50% Emissions Reduction by 2030

The Energy Mix - The climate news you need

Copyright 2023 © Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy and Copyright
  • Cookie Policy

Proudly partnering with…

scf_withtagline
No Result
View All Result
  • Canada
  • UK & Europe
  • Fossil Fuels
  • Ending Emissions
  • Community Climate Finance
  • Clean Electricity Grid
  • Cities & Communities

Copyright 2022 © Smarter Shift Inc. and Energy Mix Productions Inc. All rights reserved.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behaviour or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}