(OTTAWA) - Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada (MP, Saanich – Gulf Islands), issued the following statement on World Environment Day:
“World Environment Day celebrates the efforts of those who work for a healthier environment. It has been marked by the United Nations since 1972 on the occasion of the first global conference on the human environment. Today we thank the many environmental organizations across Canada working to remediate environmental damage, restore wildlife and fish habitat, protect endangered species and ecosystems and work for the transition to a more sustainable economy.
“This year’s theme, ‘Go Wild for Life,’ highlights the booming illegal trade in wildlife products that is eroding Earth’s precious biodiversity, robbing us of our natural heritage and driving whole species to the brink of extinction. As the United Nations Environment Programme notes, the killing and smuggling of wildlife is also undermining economies and ecosystems, fuelling organized crime, and feeding corruption and insecurity across the globe.
“World Environment Day also reminds us that Canada's greenhouse gas emissions targets remain the weakest of any G7 nation: the Harper administration’s substandard goal of 30% reduction from 2005 levels by 2030. We are nowhere near meeting our Paris Agreement commitments, when Canada and the world agreed to work towards no more than a 1.5C global temperature rise. I continue to urge the Trudeau administration to set robust GHG reduction targets as soon as possible that meet our Paris Agreement commitments."
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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