OTTAWA - Leaders and representatives of the
Green Parties of Canada, Yukon, British Columbia, Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island expressed their horror and shame today at the
Harper’s governments long-term, deliberate, and destructive sabotage of
international negotiations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit the
effects of anthropogenic climate change.
Canadians strongly support signing on to a
new international climate agreement, according to a poll by Environics Research
conducted for The Globe and Mail in
November of this year (“Support for climate action still strong in Canada, poll
finds” November 30, 2011). But the Conservative government plans to pull out of
the only agreement on the table, the Kyoto Accord, after years of reneging on
Canada’s commitments and undermining the negotiating process.
Scientists around the world are calling
with increased urgency for an international agreement to curb carbon emissions
and to begin meaningful reductions by 2015. In a recent article in The Guardian, Fatih Birol, chief
economist at the International Energy Association, said “If we don't change
direction now on how we use energy . . . the door will be closed forever”
(“World headed for irreversible climate change in five years, IEA warns” The Guardian November 9, 2011).
Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich—Gulf Islands
and Leader of the Green Party of Canada, met her provincial and territorial
counterparts by teleconference as she began her trip to Durban to attend COP17
– where Canada will again be a frontrunner for Fossil of the Year award.
"We ran out of time for politics of deny and delay over a decade ago. The
scientific warnings are clear -- failure to move decisively now will leave our
own children in an unliveable world. What kind of parents are we?” says May. “Canada
used to be seen as a nation of peacekeepers and a model of solidarity in the world,
especially toward Africa,” said Claude Sabourin, Leader of the Parti Vert de
Québec. “Now Canada is seen as a militarily-oriented country that chooses its
own short-term financial gain over the welfare of others. The Harper government’s
wilful obstruction of international climate negotiations will fix Canada’s
reputation — for the worse — in the minds of the global community.”
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Rebecca Harrison
media@greenparty.ca
613-614-4916