Which countries are doing the most to stop dangerous GHGs?

[Oscar]

Which countries are doing the most to stop dangerous global warming?

[ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... CMP=ema-60 ]

In November, nearly 200 countries meet in Paris for UN talks to agree a new climate deal. Find out below how their pledges - known as Intended Nationally Determined Contributions or INDCs in UN jargon - compare in our in-depth analysis of 14 key countries and blocs [ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... d-un-talks ]

Sign up for the Guardian’s Keep it in the Ground campaign here:
[ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... e-campaign ]

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CANADA: Compromised by weak target and dirty tar sands

[ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... CMP=ema-60 ]

Suzanne Goldenberg October 16, 2015

Canada put forward one of the weakest climate targets of any major industrialised economy, which experts said was a direct result of the Stephen Harper government’s promotion of the highly polluting tar sands industry.

The Canadian government proposed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.
[ http://www4.unfccc.int/submissions/INDC ... nglish.pdf ]

It was the first time Canada had departed significantly from the US on its climate targets – and the result was much for the worse, experts said.

Climate Action Tracker analysis, produced by four independent research organisations, dismissed Canada’s proposal as “inadequate”. [ http://climateactiontracker.org/news/20 ... gets-.html ]

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For the past several years, however, it was all-systems-go for the tar sands. Harper ramped up production, and lobbied hard to find new markets, pushing for exports to Europe and pipelines to the US.

Crude from the tar sands is an especially dirty fossil fuel, and its extraction has led to the destruction of vast swathes of northern forest and peatland – releasing even more greenhouse gas emissions. Tar sands crude produces up to 4.5 times as much carbon pollution as conventional sources, according to the Pembina Institute, a Canadian environmental thinktank.
[ http://www.pembina.org/oil-sands/os101/climate ]

Harper’s promotion of the tar sands damaged Canada’s reputation in negotiations for a global climate change deal.

The tar sands are now the country’s fastest-rising source of carbon pollution, increasing 79% over the last decade. [ http://climateactiontracker.org/countries/canada.html ]

Canada is now the world’s biggest per capita carbon emitter, according to WRI.
[ http://www.wri.org/blog/2014/11/6-graph ... 0-emitters ]

The Harper government takes issue with its critics and claims it is taking steps to fight climate change.

“We have laid out a plan for continued emissions reductions leading up to 2030 under our responsible sector-by-sector regulatory approach,” said Shane Buckingham, a spokesman for Leona Aglukkaq, the environment minister.

He accused Harper’s opponents – who have called for action on climate change of destroying jobs.

“We are increasing energy efficiency, investing in clean energy and advancing innovation while Justin Trudeau [Liberal party leader] and Thomas Mulcair [New Democratic party leader] remain fixated on forcing Canadians to pay carbon taxes that will kill jobs and increase the cost of everything, including: gas, groceries and electricity.”

In any event, Canada is unlikely to meet even its own very low bar for 2030, Climate Action Tracker said. It predicted Canada’s carbon pollution would actually grow 8% on 2005 levels by 2030.

Canada has no chance of hitting its 2020 goal of a 17% cut in emissions on 2005 levels either, the environment ministry conceded in a report late last year. [ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/pol ... e21998423/ ]

And even in the highly unlikely event that Canada does come within striking range of the target, most of Canada’s emissions cuts will come from outside the country, through the purchases of international offsets.

“We don’t see a serious agenda,” Fransen said. “The upcoming Paris negotiations are a chance for the world to get very clear about what needs to happen, and for countries to signal they understand where the world is going ... Canada’s INDC doesn’t signal this big picture, transformative change that needs to happen which is to phase out greenhouse gas emissions during this century.”