(OTTAWA) – On the first anniversary of the successful conclusion of COP21 negotiations of the Paris Agreement, the Green Party of Canada is highlighting a dire warning from the United Nations’ latest Emissions Gap Report that shows Canada and other developed nations have only four years to act to avoid a catastrophic 1.5 C temperature rise.
“The Trudeau administration still refuses to update Canada’s Harper-era greenhouse gas emissions targets, which are among the weakest the developed world. This is leading to poor coordination on GHG reduction plans across government departments, and delayed action by industry,” said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands). “The latest Emissions Gap Report should compel this government to end fossil fuel subsidies, shut down diluted bitumen pipelines, and aggressively pursue clean energy innovation to create long-term, high-paying jobs in Canada. It is a matter of basic math: we have a carbon budget, and we are deeply in deficit.”
Richard Zurawski, GPC Climate Change Critic, said: “The Emissions Gap Report gives us only four years of rising global CO2 emissions before we cross the 1.5 C threshold, which the Paris Agreement was supposed to avoid. We’ve witness a year of inaction and we cannot afford even another month of ‘pseudo-action’ and rhetoric from the Trudeau administration.
“While identifying a mere four years as critical may sound alarmist, it is not. Carbon dioxide emitted today will have a warming influence in the atmosphere for the next 100 years. To have even a 50–50 chance of holding global average temperature to no more than 1.5 C – the Paris goal championed by Canada at COP21 – global emissions over the next century must be held to about 353 gigatons more CO2. The harsh reality is that coal mines and oil and gas well reserves currently in operation worldwide contain 942 gigatons worth of CO2. This is why the only reasonable course is to leave 2/3rd of what is currently in production in the ground – without any new exploration or development of fossil fuels.
“For developed countries like Canada, fossil fuel consumption is matter of convenience. Carbon pricing needs to be increased immediately to incentivize clean energy growth and jobs. Historically, developed nations have created the CO2 problem. Now it is time to for us to do our part and reduce CO2 for future generations – time has run out,” Mr. Zurawski said.
Climate facts:
- 2016 will likely be the hottest year since modern record keeping began, while 16 of the 17 hottest years on record will have occurred since 2000.
- A joint University of Victoria and Georgia Institute of Technology study found that last year’s strongest El Niño on record is accelerating the deaths of coral reefs.
- The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report, published last month at the COP22 global climate summit in Morocco, found the global temperature in 2016 is running 1.2C above pre-industrial levels. This is perilously close to to the 1.5C target included as an aim of the Paris climate agreement last December.
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For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Dan Palmer
Press Secretary | Attaché de presse
dan.palmer@greenparty.ca
m: (613) 614-4916