Summary Climate Change

Note - Canada is a G8 country and very economically powerful. Our top 5 exports all rely on oil and gas (our top 5 exports are crude oil, refined oil, gas, refined gas and car parts for oil-and-gas using cars). How can we move toward green-cars when we are rich because of oil and gas? Would you really be willing to economically crush the country to go green? Do you believe Canada can out-compete the Japanese, US and China in green technology? Canada only produces 2% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Also of note - Canada signed the Paris Agreement agreeing to cut our emissions. But to meet the goals we promised to reach by 2030, we'd have to completely eliminate our entire oil and gas industry, our entire electrical industry, 1/2 our agricultural industry, and our entire transportation industry. Do you think it was ethical for our PM to agree to these goals in 2030 knowing perfectly well that we would never come close to reaching them? The Paris Climate Agreement Change is a “good deal.” Good is a very vague word so it is possible to be both good and bad. It depends how we define the word good. I believe the deal is good in respect to the fact that so many countries coming together to set goals and action plans to reach those goals is a step in the right direction. Harf, Harf and Lombard quote the Greenpeace Executive Director Jennifer Morgan as saying, “Although it is true that the current commitments of the Paris signatories fall far short of the emissions cuts required to meet the aspirational 1.5 – degree target…the solution is not in giving up the goal but in significantly stepping up action while also investing in adaptation to build resilience” (page 90). So, the deal is bad in the way that its goals are not enough according to some scientists. Furthermore, there does not exist any checks or controls to make sure the goals are met. Countries are free to act upon their promise