WATCH: Canada shocks COP21 with big new climate commitment

[Oscar]

WATCH: Canada shocks COP21 with big new climate commitment

[ http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/12 ... commitment ]

By Mychaylo Prystupa in News, COP21 | December 7th 2015

Sunday night, Canada surprised a world of nations and negotiators in closed-door climate talks in Paris by endorsing a bolder, more ambitious target for cutting greenhouse gases than the UN climate change summit is officially aiming for.

Canada’s Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna told a stunned crowd that she wants the Paris agreement to restrict planetary warming to just 1.5 Celsius warming —not two degrees. It was the first time she has made such a statement.

In the room was former CBC meteorologist Claire Martin, a Green Party observer at the talks. “I was freaking out,” she said. "I was writing it all down like a nut."

Reading from her notes, Martin reported the minister’s remarks like so: "'We want to send a strong political signal.’ The necessity, that she sees, is one in which we transition sustainably.”

“But she was quite clear —‘I support the goals of 1.5’— and echoed the comments of another party about human rights and indigenous peoples. Canada supports legally binding provisions, and we are committed to following through.”

"She wants a five-year review, and it must be 'ambitious' and 'accountable.'"

"Adaptation is 'incredibly important' and she has full support for the ambitious nature of this agreement," Martin added, about the minister's remarks. McKenna's office confirms it

Minister McKenna's spokesperson confirmed Monday that she supports "including reference in the Paris Agreement to the recognition of the ‎need to striving to limit global warming to 1.5, as other parties have said."

"Canada wants an agreement that is ambitious and that is signed by the greatest number of countries possible."

And crucially, “the most important thing is that each country should be legally required to submit a target. And to report on progress on that target on a regular basis."

This is not the same as legally binding countries to reach their target, as many reports have noted. Countries’ targets will still be outside the agreement. But McKenna’s office added: "There should also be a legally binding requirement in the agreement that countries improve their targets regularly."

'I am over the moon'

Green leader Elizabeth May said: “I am over the moon. It’s fantastic news!”

“It creates a very ambitious trajectory for reduction of emissions, but it’s what’s required. If we’re going to keep low-lying island states from going under water, that’s what’s required.”

“If we want to have a reasonable prospect of not having the Greenland ice sheet create five- to eight-metre sea level rise, it’s what’s required.”

“It’s a safer zone than two [degrees], which represents a lot of irreparable, irreversible damage to large parts of the world. So 1.5 is good.”

VIDEO of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking to the UN COP21 climate summit last week in Paris. Produced by Zack Embree for the National Observer.

The moves come just one week after Prime Minister Trudeau promised the world in his speech to the UN climate gathering that climate change would be a "top priority" for Ottawa.

But this latest statement about aiming for 1.5 Celsius has environmentalists —who haven't been in the habit of congratulating their federal government after nine years of Harper rule —rushing to issue happy-with-Canada press releases.

“This is an incredibly promising signal that Canada really is ready to lead when it comes to ambition and securing a strong global climate deal. Now Canada has a chance to leverage this leadership across key pieces of this agreement and this is what we hope to see over the coming days," said Steven Guilbeault of Montreal’s Équiterre in Paris.

Likewise, Karen Mahon, of ForestEthics, said: “Action and a strong deal in Paris will help Canada as it returns home and works closely with provinces to develop a plan that puts Paris promises into action.”

“Canada is redefining itself in Paris, but it will need to take its leadership home to prove that they really are back.”

Dale Marshal, of Environmental Defence, added Canada would confirm its climate leadership if it put in a "credible financing package” for a developing-country "Loss and Damage fund," and continued work to get an ambitious mechanism that allows reviews of targets and financing before 2020.

Trudeau: 'no time to waste'

It remains to be seen if the world's nations agree to Canada's urging to cap dangerous global warming at 1.5 C.

But praises for Canada come on top of heaps of laudings from Canadian First Nations leaders for backing the inclusion of Indigenous rights in the climate treaty process too. It's a move opposed by the European Union and United States over fears it could leave them liable for climate damages. [ http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/12 ... imate-deal ]

Prime Minister Trudeau said last week in Paris: "Indigenous people have known for thousands of years about how to care of our planet. The rest of us have a lot to learn, and no time to waste.”

= = = = =

Trudeau fights to keep Indigenous rights in Paris climate deal

[ http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/12 ... imate-deal ]

By Mychaylo Prystupa in News, COP21 | December 7th 2015

The Canadian government is fighting for the inclusion of Indigenous rights in the Paris climate accord against the resistance of U.S. and European Union powers, according to several sources.

The news came as Indigenous peoples from the Arctic to the Amazon launched a flotilla of kayaks in downtown Paris on Sunday to paddle their point to "keep fossil fuels in the ground" and to urge state governments to respect their collective Indigenous rights.

The Trudeau government, said a prominent a First Nations leader, is acting with great leadership— and in sharp contrast to the previous Harper regime and other wealthy countries now.

"Canada has taken a very supportive role in Paris which is absolutely welcome given where we have been over the last decade on this issue. The only recourse we have had is to the courts," wrote Grand Chief Edward John with the First Nations Summit on Monday.

The Global Indigenous Caucus, he said, wants the Paris climate agreement to "ensure that impacts from climate change on Indigenous Peoples are recognized and that measures are taken to provide for mitigation and adaptation from the impacts."

"For example we see dramatic climate changes in Canada’s Arctic impacting the Inuit," said Grand Chief John. "In the Pacific Indigenous peoples are losing the very islands which are their homes. In B.C. we have seen the devastation caused by the mountain pine beetle. We see warming waters which become lethal to migrating salmon. There are many developments globally and impacts are now, and they are real."

Currently, the inclusion of Indigenous rights in the climate agreement was “annexed” from the operative text —the part that has legal force —by the European Union and the United States over climate liability concerns.

But Beaver Lake First Nations Cree woman Crystal Lameman from northern Alberta said the Canadian government is fighting back.

“They drew a red line in the text stating it has to be there and it’s not negotiable. It means that Canada is against the EU which is blocking the issue of the collective rights of Indigenous peoples,” she said from the downtown Paris flotilla event, that drew hundreds of people.

On Friday, Prime Minister Trudeau said in a statement:

“I have instructed Canada’s chief negotiator for climate change and her team to strongly advocate for the inclusion in the Paris Agreement of language that reflects the importance of respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples. We have also highlighted the importance of considering Indigenous traditional knowledge alongside scientific analysis.”

Green leader Elizabeth May, a lawyer with more than decade of climate negotiation experience, said not to expect that the inclusion of these rights will help Aboriginal battles against Energy East or Kinder Morgan.

"I don't see any direct legal benefit for our Canadian pipeline battles. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples does more and Trudeau has called for respecting it,” she said Monday.

Amazonian Leo Serda from Ecuador, 27, came to the downtown climate rally with 16 Indigenous from his country. His tribe won an important legal human rights victory recently following dangerous threats from oil development.

"Sarayaku is a community that won a case against the Ecuadorian government because the government sent out military with an oil company to try to get oil out of this area of our territory."

He said Indigenous peoples are often on the front lines of climate change. "A lot of things have changed in our community —the agricultural cycles, we have river floods, we have no animals anymore to hunt. Everything has changed. We didn't know why. But now we see that the whole climate in the world is changing."

Climate organizer and Indigenous activist Clayton Thomas-Muller of 350.org said the legal push to include Indigenous rights in the Paris deal will help block the controversial use of so-called "REDD+" carbon credits by big resource corporations.

"[It] will add further legal weight on Canada in how it meets it climate commitments by ensuring that it does not have a financial mechanism like forest offsets in the global south to launder its climate pollution from the north, justifying expansion of developments like tar sands."

[Oscar]

What to make of McKenna's 1.5°C pledge?

[ http://canadians.org/blog/what-make-mck ... B0c-pledge ]

December 8, 2015 - 9:18 am

What are we to make of the Liberal government backing the 1.5 degrees Celsius limit for global warming?

The Canadian Press reports, "At a closed plenary session on the weekend at the COP21 climate negotiations, [environment minister Catherine] McKenna was quoted saying that on 'the question for framing the temperature goal, we support reference to striving for 1.5 as other countries have said.' In the partial transcript provided by her office to The Canadian Press, McKenna goes on to say: 'If we want to achieve this temperature goal, everyone needs to be part of this. We need maximum participation where everyone puts their best efforts forward.' ...[Her spokesperson has added] 'We support the Paris agreement having language that says we should aim and strive towards limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees.'" [ http://www.cfra.com/NationalCP/Article.aspx?id=490497 ]

The Council of Canadians supports the 1.5°C target, but there are some significant caveats to McKenna's statement.

The National Observer notes, "[McKenna's spokesperson says] 'the most important thing is that each country should be legally required to submit a target. And to report on progress on that target on a regular basis.' This is not the same as legally binding countries to reach their target, as many reports have noted. Countries’ targets will still be outside the agreement." [ http://www.nationalobserver.com/2015/12 ... commitment ]

And Maclean's cautions, "But exactly what 'voicing support' [means] is unclear. McKenna told the other environment ministers that Canada supports including a 'reference in the Paris Agreement to the recognition of the ‎need to [strive] to limit global warming to 1.5'. That stops short of asserting the limit should be 1.5 degrees... Canada is not asking that the 1.5-degree target be binding or even firm. It simply calls for language in the Paris agreement to urge countries to do their best. [The current] pledges presented by each country add up to anywhere from 2.7 to 3.7 degrees of warming." [ http://www.macleans.ca/?dpsfa_article=a ... al-warming ]

The Globe and Mail's lead line on this story was that, "Canada has endorsed a call from small island nations to hold global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, putting Ottawa out of step with the United States, which has maintained a 2 C target." [ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/wor ... e27626639/ ]

But by late yesterday, the Guardian had clarified, "In the final push to a climate agreement, the US, Canada, China and the European Union declared they were now on board with demands from African countries to adopt an even more ambitious goal to limit warming."
[ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/ ... ing-target ]

While Equiterre, ForestEthics and Environmental Defence praised the Canadian government's position, other groups, like Friends of the Earth US and the Indigenous Environmental Network, were more critical.

The Guardian report adds, "Campaign groups meanwhile said the aspiration to 1.5C was far-removed from reality. ...Erich Pica, the director of Friends of the Earth US, accused the rich countries of backing vulnerable states on the 1.5C goal to crowd out bigger developing countries. 'There is a dangerous push that developed countries are using on this push to 1.5C to blur the lines', he said. 'The US and European countries are adopting the idea of 1.5C as a mitigation target but they are blurring of the lines on what has to happen to have a just and fair sharing of the 1.5C equation.'"

And in a media release the Indigenous Environmental Network stated, "Indigenous peoples from Canada, U.S. and the world were initially elated to hear [support for 1.5 degrees Celsius]... 'What remains to be seen is how Canada aims to achieve this goal without a commitment to stop the expansion of the Alberta tar sands and its associated pipelines and begin the rapid transition to a renewable economy. This would be the real news and commitment that we want from Canada to deeply commit to responding to the climate crisis,' [says Tom Goldtooth]."
[ http://indigenousrising.org/indigenous- ... te-target/ ]

We agree.

We have highlighted in numerous blogs that British researchers at University College London have concluded that 85 per cent of the tar sands would have to be left in the ground to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius. That study specified that no more than 7.5 billion barrels of oil from the tar sands can be produced over the next 35 years. [ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/nat ... e22335591/ ]

The proposed Energy East pipeline would move 1,100,000 barrels of oil a day. That means about 401,500,000 barrels per year. If the limit that can be drawn from the tar sands is 7,500,000,000 then that limit would be reached in about 19 years. That means Canada would hit its carbon budget within two decades with only the Energy East pipeline (no other pipelines, no other tar sands production). A 1.5°C target would mean that deadline would come even sooner. And given the Liberals have also publicly supported an expansion of the tar sands and have not ruled out Energy East, their 1.5°C promise lacks credibility. [ http://canadians.org/blog/trudeau-gover ... -expansion ]

Council of Canadians energy and climate justice campaigner Andrea Harden-Donahue says, "With ambitious targets must come ambitious actions. This means freezing tar sands expansion, rejecting both the Energy East and Kinder Morgan pipelines, and planning for a just transition towards a fossil free economy and society by 2050."

For more on our energy and climate justice campaign, please click here:
[ http://canadians.org/energy ]

Tags: COP 21
[ http://canadians.org/tags/cop-21 ]

Brent Patterson's blog
Political Director of the council of Canadians
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]

[Oscar]

Premiers, Trudeau must deliver on climate action at First Ministers Meeting

[ http://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-relea ... rs-meeting ]

March 02, 2016

(OTTAWA) – The clock is ticking for the Liberal government to live up to its climate action promises, said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands).

Ms. May and the Green Party of Canada are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to follow through on his campaign commitment to create a national framework for meaningful action on climate change. Ms. May made the comments on Wednesday during the GLOBE 2016 Leadership Summit for Sustainable Business in Vancouver, B.C.

“Time is running out for Liberal promises,” Ms. May said. “For a decade, the previous federal government sabotaged work on Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) targets, and those targets sunk to the worst in the G7. The Premiers must now set aside narrow self-interest to endorse a new and more ambitious target for Canada. Those renewed targets will pressure other countries to do more, and the global market will respond by increasingly betting on renewables and the future economy.”

On April 22, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, the global community will gather to sign the Paris Agreement. Canada must not show up with the current embarrassing targets left behind by the Conservatives, Ms. May said.

Dr. Lynne Quarmby, Green Party Science Critic, said the federal government must provide aggressive leadership to limit GHG emissions and avoid catastrophic climate change.

“The science is in on climate change, and intransigent Premiers cannot be allowed to drag us all down,” Quarmby said. “Trudeau promised a national plan by March 12. That plan must align with real action on the climate file. I’ll be watching closely and hope to celebrate when PM Trudeau and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna announce the foundations of a national plan of carbon pricing and regulation in keeping with Canadian promises made at the Paris Climate summit.” - 30-

For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:

Dan Palmer
Press Secretary | Attaché de presse
Green Party of Canada | Parti vert du Canada
dan.palmer@greenparty.ca
mobile: (613) 614-4916