• About
    • Which Energy Mix is this?
  • Climate News Network Archive
  • Contact
Celebrating our 1,000th edition. The climate news you need
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
  FEATURED
BREAKING: U.S. Senate Passes Historic $369B Climate Package August 7, 2022
Researchers Point To ‘Dangerously Unexplored’ Risk of Global Climate Catastrophe August 2, 2022
Koch Network Pressures Manchin, Sinema as Advocates Praise ‘Game Changing’ Climate Deal August 2, 2022
Coastal GasLink Cost Skyrockets 70% to $11.2B August 2, 2022
Ottawa Releases Regulatory ‘Frame’ for Net-Zero Grid by 2035 August 2, 2022
Next
Prev

Real Climate Leadership Means Separating Economy from Fossil Production, Berman Tells Ottawa

October 19, 2021
Reading time: 3 minutes

http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/campaigns/Energy/tarsands/

Jiri Rezac / Greenpeace

19
SHARES
 

Genuine climate leadership in Canada means separating the country’s economy from fossil fuel production quickly and for good, says Stand.Earth international program director Tzeporah Berman. 

But the jumble of “half measures” the country’s leadership is currently pursuing “will fall short for as long as our political leaders continue to cling to the hope that we can meet our climate goals without winding down fossil fuel production,” she writes in a recent op-ed for The Globe and Mail. 

While “Canada has made important strides, including by putting a price on carbon pollution nation-wide,” it has made little traction elsewhere, Berman states. Today, Canada has “the worst climate record in the G7.” 

“Ever since we signed the Paris Agreement in 2015, our emissions have surged higher than those of any of our peers,” she writes. 

And Ottawa’s climate inertia has been remarkable: resolute in the face of lethal heat domes, wildfires, drought, and flooding, Ottawa continues to “subsidize oil and gas drilling at higher levels than in any other G20 country.”

Such a state of affairs cannot continue, says Berman, citing research published last month in Nature finding that “a majority of fossil fuels need to stay in the ground if we want to avoid locking in the catastrophic impacts that would come with exceeding that number.”

And they do not have to stay this way, she points out. In fact, a June study from Sydney’s University of Technology found that “we have the renewable energy potential right now to transition us fully away from fossil fuels.”

But now the calls for climate action are growing ever louder and ever more diverse, with the International Energy Agency and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change both on the same page calling for an end to new fossil fuel projects. Berman flags the restoration and protection of Canada’s boreal forests—critical carbon sinks—as a particularly vital component of Canada’s climate efforts.

“We will also need new technologies,” she adds. “But the hard reality is that carbon capture and storage, a buzzy new innovation that promises to prevent greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere, is neither viable at scale nor cost competitive at the moment.”

In short, Berman concludes, “Canada claims to be a climate leader, but it’s time to get clear on what that means.” To show true leadership, the country must have both national and international commitments to end oil and gas while not leaving affected workers and communities behind.

“Wealthy, fossil fuel-producing countries, including Canada, the U.S., the U.K., and Norway, are the ones that have largely driven historic emissions, and that now have the greatest capacity to make a transition away from oil, gas and coal,” she writes. “This means our fair share of the problem is bigger than those of most nations.” 



in Canada, Climate & Society, Climate Action / "Blockadia", Climate Impacts & Adaptation, Community Climate Finance, COP Conferences, Ending Emissions, Forests & Deforestation, Jurisdictions, Legal & Regulatory, Soil & Natural Sequestration

The latest climate news and analysis, direct to your inbox

Subscribe

Related Posts

openthegovernment.org
United States

BREAKING: U.S. Senate Passes Historic $369B Climate Package

August 8, 2022
280
jasonwoodhead23/flickr
Energy Politics

Fossils Dismiss Federal Emissions Cap as ‘Aggressive’, ‘Unrealistic’

August 8, 2022
135
Early stages of construction on the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor in France
Nuclear

Failing French Nuclear Plants Drive Up Electricity Costs as Heat Waves Cut Production

August 8, 2022
307

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

Joseph Brent/Flickr

Green Hydrogen Will Cost Less than Fossil-Fuelled ‘Blue’, Shell CEO Admits

August 7, 2022
590
openthegovernment.org

BREAKING: U.S. Senate Passes Historic $369B Climate Package

August 8, 2022
280
Early stages of construction on the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor in France

Failing French Nuclear Plants Drive Up Electricity Costs as Heat Waves Cut Production

August 8, 2022
307
David Wilson/wikimedia commons

U.S. State Treasurers Use Public Office to Thwart Climate Action, Investigation Finds

August 7, 2022
133
/MaxPixels

‘Substantial Damage’, No Injuries as Freight Train Hits Wind Turbine Blade

May 25, 2022
5.6k
Green Energy Futures/flickr

Solar Shingle Buying Guide Lays Out Options for Curious Homeowners

August 7, 2022
146

Recent Posts

jasonwoodhead23/flickr

Fossils Dismiss Federal Emissions Cap as ‘Aggressive’, ‘Unrealistic’

August 8, 2022
135
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

Canadians Share Stories of Fear, Vulnerability from 2021 Heat Dome

August 7, 2022
68
Brian Jeffery Beggerly/Wikimedia Commons

China’s Latest Renewables Plan Could Bridge Global 1.5°C Gap, Expert Says

August 9, 2022
139
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Pacific Region/Wikimedia Commons

Australia Bans New Coal Mine to Protect Great Barrier Reef, Faces Call for Full Moratorium

August 7, 2022
78
The Come Up Show/flickr

Celebrities, Influencers See Backlash for Private Jet Emissions

August 7, 2022
63
alexxxis/Pixabay

Cambridge University to Rename BP Institute Following Student Backlash

August 7, 2022
48
Next Post
Anonymous/Wikimedia Commons

Gidimt’en Checkpoint Urges Investors to Dump Coastal GasLink Pipeline

The Energy Mix

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

Navigate Site

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

Follow Us

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}