Dear Editor
Monday, Environment Minister Peter Kent explained to reporters "that climate change is a very real and present danger and we need to address it".
With the next round of United Nations Climate Negotiations coming up next week in Qatar, there is no time like the present for the minister and government to affirm forceful comments with real commitments.
Already the planet has experienced 0.8 degrees of warming, and subsequently we've experienced extreme drought, flooding, heat-waves and most recently, the devastation of Hurricane Sandy that put climate change back into the public consciousness. This is what a one degree planet looks like, imagine two degrees or even worse. "Business as usual" from Canada and other big polluters are putting us on track for a four degree planet.
As Kent stated, the prime minister's signature is on the Copenhagen Accord, an accord which includes a commitment to cap global temperature rise to a maximum of two degrees. Canada's current climate plan will not get us there. Planned tar sands growth is slated to reach three times the size the International Energy Agency has determined would keep us under that target.
The math does not add up and while it's nice to hear Canada talking aggressively about climate change again, actions speaker stronger than words. It's difficult to hear truth in the minister's words over the din of pipelines, tankers and tar sands expansion.
Megan Van Buskirk and Karen Rooney
Saskatoon, Canadian Youth Delegates to the UN Climate Negotiations
