Conservatives must act on climate change

One issue that comes up frequently is the environment and global warming. Specifically, constituents are concerned that this minority Conservative government has no environmental plan, have abandoned Kyoto, and cut most of the climate change programs put in place by the previous Liberal government.

I think these concerns are well founded. Let's look at the evidence so far.

First, as I have discussed in previous columns, the minority Conservative government cut existing effective environmental programs such as EnerGuide, which gave financial assistance to Canadians to make their homes more energy efficient.

Second, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's announcement that his government will table a Clean Air Act confirms the Conservatives have little interest in producing a real plan to address global warming. Despite frequent questioning, Environment Minister Rona Ambrose has failed to present any clear plan on how the Conservative government will implement the federal regulatory regime that is required for any serious environmental plan. The Minister has also refused to answer questions about why a Clean Air Act was needed when the Canadian Environmental Protection Act already provides all the tools necessary for any government to act. The implementation of entirely new legislation will result in significant delay. In fact, the Prime Minister admitted as much during his announcement when he said they would consult for at least a year.

It appears that the Conservatives introduction of a new act is an attempt to delay addressing this serious issue and distract from the fact the Harper government spent the last eight months cutting funding to federal programs and initiatives that address climate change and reduce air pollution.

Third, the Conservatives’ recent cancellation of a $1.5 billion pledge to help the world’s poorest countries begin to meet their Kyoto targets is yet another shameful sign that the Harper government has no interest in addressing global warming. The Kyoto agreement’s clean development mechanism is designed to introduce clean technologies to developing countries, to help ensure their economic growth doesn’t lead to massive increases in GHG emissions. The United Nations Climate Change Secretariat estimates that approximately 800 projects were already lined-up under this mechanism, ready to generate estimated emissions reductions of over a billion tonnes by the end of 2012.

The minority Conservative government’s choice to break yet another Kyoto commitment is made worse because this pledge was meant to help those nations with the most at stake. The Liberal Opposition believes Canada should be helping poorer countries develop clean technologies, instead of cynically sacrificing these efforts to mislead Canadians about Kyoto’s mechanisms and their value.

Sadly, based on their actions thus far, it is clear to me that the Harper government does not see global warming and the environment as pressing issues.

A credible environmental plan would include short-term, medium and long-term pollution and GHG reduction targets, along with the means to live up to Canada's international commitments. The Liberal Opposition will continue to work tirelessly to press this government to take credible action against global warming and to live up to our Kyoto commitments.



Lucienne Robillard is the Liberal MP for Westmount-Ville-Marie and Deputy Leader of the Official Opposition.