Global Warming

New Polaris Institute report about the prospects for an electric car industry in Canada in the age of climate change

jessie — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 06:40:24 -0800

New Polaris Institute report about the prospects for an electric car industry in Canada in the age of climate change

A new report is being released today by the Polaris Institute called, “Electric Car Report: What are the prospects for an electric car industry in Canada and is this a real or false solution for climate change.” The report contributes to the ongoing discussion about the greening of automobiles by highlighting how Canada could become a production centre for electric vehicles and raising important questions about the role of electric vehicles in mitigating climate change.

You can access the report here

For questions and inquiries please contact:

Richard Girard, 613 237-1717 ext 105 richard@polarisinstitute.org

Excerpt from the introduction:

A buzz has developed around electric cars over the past two years based on the recent high profile release of the Chevrolet Volt and the Nissan Leaf in the United States and the related marketing of these products. Most national newspapers in Canada and the United States have covered electric cars over the past 12 months in reports and editorials. Driven by strong corporate advertising campaigns, the image of the electric car as a solution to damaging tailpipe emissions is being perpetuated with some success.

All of the world’s large automotive manufacturers have picked up on the trend towards electric cars and have launched research and development programs aimed at producing these products. Many will be releasing commercially available plug in electric vehicles (PEV) 5 in the near future. Based on the optimism shown by the automotive industry it would seem that there is a nascent market for these vehicles in the United States, Japan and Western Europe. In the United States, at least, the confidence shown by the traditional auto manufacturers is driven in part by the Obama administration’s financial commitment to developing the industry, part of the President’s plan to help build the clean energy economy that he sees as key to the country’s competitiveness in the 21st century. Only time will tell if the buying public in the U.S. will flock to the local dealership to purchase a Volt or Leaf in 2011.

Meanwhile the Canadian government has yet to earmark significant funds to this industry leaving the country in a chicken and egg situation: without the government funds to foster an electric car industry and stimulate a market this mode of electrified transportation may not emerge in Canada. Canada is a major vehicle producing country and in the event that electric vehicles come into general use, this sector – a major employer of Canadian workers – could be adversely impacted if not properly prepared. The Canadian government continues to invest significantly in programs supporting the efficiency of internal combustion engines, but has not yet made specific investments in battery and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Further action by the Federal government to support this sector will be needed or Canada could be left behind other auto producing centres to the detriment of jobs in the automotive sector.

But should public money be used to stimulate a burgeoning electric car industry or would government funds be more successful in reducing emissions if they went to developing more accessible public transportation or to encourage people to simply walk more often or create more and safer bicycle lanes? This report will explore these questions and posits that a separate debate about the perceived benefits of the electric car needs to occur before any serious recommendations on government spending can be made.

http://www.polarisinstitute.org/files/electriccarreport.pdf

Peasants cool the planet!

jessie — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 09:55:03 -0800

Peasants cool the planet!

Zoe Cormier, New Internationalist, December 7, 2010-- Today thousands of people are expected to take to the streets of Cancun in Mexico as part of the Global Day of Action for Climate Justice, partly co-ordinated by La Via Campesina (the International Peasant Movement), to protest what they perceive as a lack of respect for human rights at the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Under the banner ‘Peasants Cool The Planet’, they will demand that more attention be given to matters of social justice – such as the transfer of $30 billion in aid from developed nations to developing ones, a pledge that was made last year that rich countries now appear to be ready to drop. La Via Campesina, the Indigenous Environmental Network and other NGOs from around the world are also extremely concerned about the emphasis at the talks being given to measures such as REDD (Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) which they contend only undermines human rights by transferring ownership and control of forests away from the people who depend on them.

The turnout at the demonstration today will no doubt be dwarfed by the 100,000 people who marched this time last year in Copenhagen – largely because the UN conference last year drew far more attention in the run-up to December. Many described COP15 in 2009 as our ‘last chance’ to seal a binding and effective international accord to prevent dramatic climate change. Hopes were high.

But after last year’s unambiguous failure, this year’s conference has utterly failed to rouse the same level of enthusiasm. Press coverage is scant in comparison. Few politicians, journalists or activists believe much will come out of COP16 but more hot air, late nights, and meaningless pieces of paper.

Yet again, little more but sound and fury – both from politicians proclaiming that progress is afoot, as well as angry activists, understandably frustrated by the inability of all United Nations Climate Change Conferences to halt the global rise in carbon by even the tiniest degree. Two decades of jet-fuelled meetings have achieved nothing but a steady rise in global greenhouse gas levels, and steady shrink in forests (and other carbon sinks), and a seemingly inexorable march towards dramatic climate change.

Thousands of demonstrators and NGOs have converged on the city, yet their impact on the conference is likely to be even less marked than last year, due to the cosy confinement of the delegates inside the complexes of the Mexican beach town, a cotton-woolled resort that has long secluded wealthy tourists away from Mexico’s slums. The barricades around Copenhagen’s Bella Centre pale in comparison.

Nonetheless, activists and NGOs from around the world are still making the trip to Mexico to make what stamp they can. One of those is the Polaris Institute, based in Ottawa, Canada, who last week made their way towards the beach resort town from the small community of Cerro San Pedro, 500 kilometres north of Mexico City. Travelling southwards in a collection of caravans, they are meeting with a dozen communities that have been affected by massive industrial projects, such as those near Cerro San Pedro which have been coping with impacts created by huge mines operated by Canadian company New Gold.

‘We want to highlight the social and environmental destruction that is created by these huge projects,’ says Richard Girard, Research Coordinator from the Polaris Institute. ‘In Canada a few small populations are impacted by the tar sands, but our same companies impact millions of people in Mexico, and their voices are not heard.’

The Canadian government as well is a target for impacted communities – Canada was named last week by the Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres as one of three countries (together with Russia and Japan) trying to kill the Kyoto Protocol, the only international accord on climate change to date with any bite. This comes as little surprise – Canada was again named the Colossal Fossil last year in Copenhagen for obstructing progress at the talks, in large part due to massive expansions in the Canadian tar sands.

‘Though the local populations in Mexico and around the world see their local battle as a regional struggle of their own, on a larger scale the degradation and pollution that comes about from these projects is part of the whole process that is causing climate change,’ Girard says. ‘A lot of the NGOs who come to talk about climate change are only thinking about polar bears and trees – they are not familiar with how people’s lives are impacted. This is something that is, unfortunately, often missing from the broader environmental movement.’

Opening day of Global Forum for Life and Environmental and Social Justice

jessie — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 08:52:48 -0800

Opening day of Global Forum for Life and Environmental and Social Justice

Emma Lui, Rabble.ca, December 5, 2010--Brent, Leticia and I attended the opening ceremony for 'Foro Global Por La Vida La Justicia Ambiental Y Social' (Global Forum for Life and Environmental and Social Justice) today. The forum, one of three alternative spaces to the UN climate change conference, is organized by La Via Campesina. The ceremony was held in a open-air sports stadium. The atmoshere was one of excitement, activity and solidarity.

In front of the stage, there was an ornate circle of fruit, candles, flowers and other offerings made to Mother Earth in part as a way to ask permission to be here. The ceremony was lead by Guatemalan and Mexican Mayans. They asked Mother Earth to ensure that our leaders do not make decisions that cause more damage. They acknowledged that sometimes we forget to thank Mother Earth for all the things she gives us and said that we are here to be reminded of the beauty of Mother Earth. There will be another ceremony on Monday at 5 a.m. that all can participate in.

La Via Campesina went on to welcome participants from countries from all over the world including Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Haiti, El Salvador, Honduras, India, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Dominican Republic, the United States, Japan, France, Mexico, Guatemala and Venezuela. Mexico and Guatemala had by far the most people present.

The first speaker talked about the serious challenges that Mexico faces because of environmental damage. He spoke of the challenges that social movements face but highlighted the need to look beyond these challenges in order to unify our efforts. He denounced the governments of the world for their secret deals and false solutions but reminded the audience that we the people have the power to challenge and change that.

We heard about how La Via Campesina originally booked a space near the airport. However, the police told them they could not use that space because it was too close to the climate negotiations which are taking place at the Moon Palace conference centre.

Next we heard very moving and passionate stories from people who had been on caravans for the last 3-7 days. The bus caravans have been traveling through communities in Mexico to hear stories of the impacts of environmental degradation.

Richard Girard from Polaris Institute (Canada) spoke of the community of San Pedro in San Luis Potosi. Mining company New Gold has taken the top off of a nearby mountain in an illegal mining operation. They have also put 16,000 tons of cyanide into the water. Richard spoke about how in community after community there was the core problems of environmental degradation, transnational corporations acting with impunity and government complicity.
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Interveners spoke about their experiences and shared stories including on how mass avocado groves impacts water and the land and how a teachers' initiative has succeeded in banning junk food in 60-70 schools.

It was clear that speakers were deeply affected by their experiences and extremely passionate about their work. It was also clear that they were even more motivated and inspired to make change happen.

More to come.

PM allows unelected Senate to kill climate bill in unprecedented vote

jessie — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 11:28:23 -0800

PM allows unelected Senate to kill climate bill in unprecedented vote

November 17, 2010, Ottawa-- Stephen Harper has done what he promised to never do, allow the Senate to go against the will of the majority of Members of Parliament and the Canadian public. Last night, Stephen Harper’s Senators voted to defeat the Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311) before the bill even had a chance to be debated.

“The Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311) has been the only strong piece of climate change legislation before Parliament. It has been supported by a majority of MPs twice, and represents the will of the majority of Canadians who want our government to take strong action on climate change,” says Keith Stewart of Greenpeace Canada. “In using an undemocratic, nineteenth-century institution to avoid dealing with the twenty-first century’s most pressing environmental problem, the Harper government is being both hypocritical and irresponsible.”

The Climate Change Accountability Act passed through the House of Commons to the Senate in the spring of last year. Because Conservative Senators had chosen not to take the opportunity to debate the bill, the bill had not yet been referred to a committee for study. Instead of doing so, Conservative Senators called a surprise vote last night, and managed to kill the bill while many of its supporters were away from the Senate.

“It seems clear that the Conservative government doesn't want to be accountable to Canadians about setting and meeting climate targets,” said Clare Demerse from the Pembina Institute. “This bill would have required the government to publish regular reports explaining its climate policy to Canadians – and as things currently stand, every one of those reports would have created bad headlines for the government.”

“This manipulation of the democratic process is irresponsible and goes against the campaign promises that Stephen Harper made on accountability, transparency and democratic fairness, not to mention Senate reform,” says Steven Guilbeault of Equiterre. “The Harper controlled senate has been delaying discussions of this bill for months, and now they have killed it without even the due process in terms of bringing the bill to committee and debating it. It is like a jury arriving at a verdict in a trial without hearing any witnesses or knowing what they need to know about the case.”

“In the face of the climate change crisis, and weeks before the United Nations climate talks begin in Cancun, this is a clear signal that this government is refusing to take global warming seriously,” says Graham Saul of Climate Action Network Canada. “Right now, Canada’s government is on track to arrive at the UN climate talks in Cancun with no plan to reach its target and having just killed the country’s best chance to do better, despite majority support from MPs and Canadians for stronger climate action.”

“Global warming impacts are already being felt by hundreds of millions of people around the world, including communities here in Canada,” says John Bennett of Sierra Club Canada. “This is a brazen move that sends the message that Stephen Harper’s government just doesn’t care.”

Climate Action Network Canada is calling on Canadians who care about this issue to contact Prime Minister Harper, or members of his Conservative caucus, to call for a democratic response to one of the most important issues of our time.

Big Oil Launches a New Phase in Ongoing Green Masquerade CAPP insists Tar Sands can be “Greened”

jessie — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 09:10:25 -0700

Big Oil Launches a New Phase in Ongoing Green Masquerade CAPP insists Tar Sands can be “Greened”

Natasha Peters and Padraic O'Brien, October 25, 2010, Ottawa - Members of Climate Justice Ottawa, dressed as Big Oil representatives hiding behind green masks, will be at the Chateau Laurier on October 25th at 5:30pm. They will be denouncing this new false dialogue as yet another attempted greenwashing tactic by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) to promote the Tar Sands as a sustainable source of energy.

On October 25th and 26th, CAPP, in collaboration with the Canada School of Energy and Environment, will be meeting in Ottawa with various hand-picked stakeholders to continue their “National Oil Sands dialogue”.

For years now, CAPP has been trying to hide the harsh realities of the Tar Sands by building a green facade. But behind this facade, the problems remain. “The bottom line is that the oil industry only seeks to expand its operations and maximize profit for its shareholders”, says Natasha Peters of Climate Justice Ottawa. Held in multiple cities across Canada, these CAPP led “false-dialogues” are part of a vast public relations campaign which includes billboards to falsely promote the Tar Sands as sustainable. Some of these can be found on the streets of Ottawa.

"The Tar Sands are not and will never be sustainable," Emelia Koberg, an organizer with Climate Justice Ottawa explains. “Immediate action is needed to address the climate crisis, stop the destruction of the land and respect the affected communities. An immediate moratorium on the Tar Sands must be implemented and this much needed change will not be lead by CAPP.”

Tar sands development is on track to destroy a section of Canada's boreal forest the size of England. The rapidly increasing carbon pollution from this mega-project and other global sources is fueling climate change, which already results in the deaths of an estimated 150,000 people each year and threatens upwards of 70% of the planet's species with extinction.

Climate Justice Ottawa, a group of concerned community members, is calling for the federal government to take serious action on climate change, to implement an immediate moratorium on tar sands expansion, and take the role of affected First Nations communities seriously in deciding the future of this megaproject.

Alberta oilsands air pollution worsens: Report

jessie — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:05:03 -0700

Alberta oilsands air pollution worsens: Report

Karen Kleiss, Edmonton Journal May 27, 2010, EDMONTON — Air quality tests show oilsands companies breached Alberta's air pollution targets more in 2009 than ever before, according to an environmental report released this week.

Environmental Defence Canada analyzed air quality data collected by industry-funded monitors over the past six years, and found companies violated the province's air quality standards more than 1,500 times in 2009, up from less than 50 times in 2004.

"We have heard repeatedly from federal Environment Minister Jim Prentice and Premier Ed Stelmach that they are getting tough on the oilsands, that they are working on cleaning it up. It hasn't happened," Environmental Defence program manager Gillian McEachern said Tuesday.

"We need to move beyond talking tough to actually putting in place measures to fix the problem."

The report calls on the federal government to make good on its October
2006 promise to pass a federal Clean Air Act that would cap the amount of pollutants oilsands operators are allowed to emit.

The 18-page report, Dirty Oil Dirty Air, is based on air quality information collected by the independent Wood Buffalo Environment Association, an air quality monitoring organization funded by oil companies and operated with input from a long list of government and community stakeholders.

Environmental Defence compared the air quality data to the province's Ambient Air Quality Objectives, which set emissions standards for key air pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter and hydrogen sulphide.

When any of these air pollutants is measured at a higher level than the province's limit, WEBA records an "exceedance."

In 2009, there were 1,556 exceedances, up from 47 in 2004.

The report says that, in high doses, these pollutants have been linked to respiratory illness, heart disease, emphysema, bronchitis, headaches, nausea, spontaneous abortion and impaired neurological function. However, it is not clear from the data how large the exceedances were.

Alberta Environment spokesman Chris Bourdeau said the system is working precisely as it was designed to work. Exceedances act as triggers, he said, so the government knows when air pollution is on the rise and can deal with the problem.

"We're not hiding from the fact that exceedances did increase," Bourdeau said. In this case, the spike was traced to an increase in hydrogen sulphide emissions from a Suncor tailings pond. A team of provincial experts is working with the company to reduce emissions, and the numbers are coming down, Boudreau said.

He also said those who live in the region need not worry about health concerns associated with the exceedances.

"It's a nuisance issue, it's an odour issue, it's not a health issue," he said. "If you look at our overall air quality numbers, they're showing that 95 per cent of the time the air quality is good."

New fact sheet compares environmental impacts of oil sands mining and in situ extraction

jessie — Thu, 27 May 2010 14:03:10 -0700

New fact sheet compares environmental impacts of oil sands mining and in situ extraction

May 26, 2010, Calgary, Alberta -- The Pembina Institute has compared the environmental impacts of oil sands mining and in situ extraction and found that some of the impacts from in situ extraction are higher than from mining. Far from being a "low-impact" method of oil sands extraction, on average in situ has higher greenhouse gas and sulphur dioxide intensities than mining.

The new fact sheet, Mining vs. In Situ (www.oilsandswatch.org/pub/2017) draws on the Pembina Institute's two oil sands report cards -- Under-Mining the Environment (www.oilsandswatch.org/pub/1571) and Drilling Deeper (www.oilsandswatch.org/pub/1981). It provides an initial, much-needed comparison of the environmental impacts of oil sands mining and in situ extraction.

In situ extraction techniques are used where oil sands deposits lie too deep underground for surface mining. Given that about 80,000 square kilometres of Alberta -- an area the size of Scotland -- has been leased for in situ development, the potential environmental impact of these projects could be significant.

For more information, contact:

Simon Dyer
Oil Sands Program Director
The Pembina Institute

Tar sands oil extraction spreading rapidly, report warns

jessie — Mon, 17 May 2010 06:13:11 -0700

Tar sands oil extraction spreading rapidly, report warns

Terry Macalister, The Guardian, Monday 17 May 2010 --Friends of the Earth reports says extraction threatens environment as well as vulnerable communities

The successful development of Canada's tar sands has triggered a rush by Shell and other oil companies to set up similar operations in Russia, Congo and even Madagascar, a new report reveals.

Soaring crude prices and an growing shortage of drilling sites have encouraged the energy industry to look at a series of "unconventional"
hydrocarbon deposits threatening vulnerable environment and communities in places such as Jordan, Morocco as well as the US, Friends of the Earth says in a review called Tar sands -- fuelling the energy crisis.

The revelations come just 24 hours before Shell's annual general meeting and on the day when Ceres, a coalition of a investors and environmentalists, launches its own survey warning that Canadian tar sands extraction could pose an even bigger risk to an oil company share price than the US rig disaster which has knocked $30bn (?20.6bn) off the value of BP.

Tar sands and oil shale are considered by green groups to be much more damaging to the planet than normal oil operations because extraction is highly carbon- and water-intensive.

"Tar sands -- bitumen that is extracted and upgraded to produce synthetic crude -- has been heavily criticised for its poor environmental and social outcomes, locally and globally. Canada is currently the only major centre of production but investment is expanding, including by European oil companies such as BP, Shell, Total and ENI," the Friends of the Earth report says.

The group wants the European Union to use its fuel quality directive to take into account the different carbon footprints of oil-based fuels entering the EU by assigning them a value to represent the strength of their greenhouse gas effect. Otherwise "it will encourage the global expansion of tar sands putting vulnerable communities at risk, and will slow progress towards the EU's wider climate and energy goals".

BP is developing tar sands in Alberta and also in Venezuela, the world's second largest reserves after Canada, where it is active on the Petromonagas block and is also considering the Ayacucho 2 block.

Shell, which led the charge into Alberta, has been working with Tatneft to produce tar sands crude at the Ashalchinskoye field in Tatarstan, in the Russian Federation.

ENI of Italy has signed an agreement with the energy ministry in Republic of Congo to invest in tar sands although it says it will not use the methods being employed by others in Canada.

BP and Shell contest claims by Friends of the Earth and others that tar sands are up to five times as carbon-intensive to exploit as normal crude.
Shell says it hopes to mitigate the impact by using carbon capture and storage techniques, although the technologies are unproven on a large scale.

Oil shale, a rock containing kerogen from which synthetic crude can be extracted by heating it to very high temperatures, is in abundant supply in Jordan. Shell finalised a deal last year to operate on the AzraQ and Al Jafr blocks via its Jordan Shale Company.

A spokesman for Shell said its operations in Jordan were at an early stage and claiming that although tar sands made headlines they were a very small part of the company's overall business. "They make up 2.5% of our overall production and even after planned expansion in Canada they will only make up 4%," he said.

Friends of the Earth points out that Jordan is one of the driest countries on earth and is estimated to have a water shortage of 320m cubic metres this year. "Oil shale production will exacerbate this trend hugely, as one barrel of shale requires as much as 3.2 barrels of water to upgrade," the report notes.

There is also oil company interest in shale deposits at 10 locations in Morocco, two in Egypt as well as a "bitumen belt" in Nigeria which is already suffering major environmental damage from oil spills in the delta and the flaring of excess gas.

Meanwhile the Ceres report, launched by its president Mindy Lubber, highlights not only the widespread environmental and social impact of oil sands development, but also the high production costs and limited market for this fuel, for which companies have committed $200 billion in investments. Shareholder resolutions requesting expanded oil sands risk disclosure have been filed this year with leading oil sands producers, including BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.

Climate Change Accountability Act a Step Forward for Canada

jessie — Thu, 06 May 2010 05:14:27 -0700

Climate Change Accountability Act a Step Forward for Canada

May 5, 2010, OTTAWA—Members of the Climate Action Network-Réseau Action Climat Canada are very pleased to celebrate historic progress in Canadian climate change policy today with the passing of the third reading vote on the Climate Change Accountability Act (Bill C-311).

“The passing of the Climate Change Accountability Act is a huge victory for climate change policy in Canada,” said John Bennett of Sierra Club Canada. “The environmental movement has supported this Bill from its inception as one of the strongest piece of climate change legislation in Canadian politics.”

“All three opposition parties must be congratulated for their support for the Climate Change Accountability Act,” said Dale Marshall of the David Suzuki Foundation. “This support reminds us that the majority of Members of Parliament, along with the majority of Canadians and provinces want stronger action on climate change. “

“The Harper government has fumbled the ball on climate change. The upcoming G8 and G20 summits are an opportunity for Canada to show some leadership,” said Dave Martin from Greenpeace Canada. “The targets laid out in the Climate Change Accountability Act, together with money on the table to help poorer countries cope with climate change would send a message to the world that Canada is ready to take this seriously.”

The Climate Change Accountability Act requires that the Canadian federal government implement regulations and policies to attain a long-term target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below the 1990 level by 2050.

Bill C-311 has passed third reading with the opposition parties voting in favour (149 to 136). As this historic Bill passes through the House of Commons, Climate Action Network Canada looks forward to working together with all parties and the Senate to ensure rapid implementation of ambitious Canadian climate policy.

Canadian Youth Unite to Deliver a Message to Members of Parliament: Be Climate Leaders, Keep Bill C-311 Alive!

jessie — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 08:54:54 -0700

Canadian Youth Unite to Deliver a Message to Members of Parliament: Be Climate Leaders, Keep Bill C-311 Alive!

April 12, 2010, NATIONAL - Following an announcement that Bill C-311, the Climate Change Accountability Act, would face a procedural vote in the House of Commons in order to reach its third reading, a network of Climate Justice activists across Canada have delivered a message to Members of Parliament across Canada: Take action on Climate Change Save Bill C-311.

“Bill C-311 is the only science-based piece of climate legislation in the Canadian parliament, and our best bet for taking the first step towards making Canada a climate leader,” said Sarah McEwen, 24 year old from Winnipeg. “Young people in Canada want to see the government take action, and supporting C-311 is key to that process.”

Bill C-311 will inscribe minimum emission cut targets of 25% below 1990 levels by 2020, and 80% cuts by 2050, the bottom-line scientific cuts needed to keep global temperature rise below 2 C.

“As it stands, Canada has presented targets of 17% cuts below 2006 levels by 2020, this amounts to less than 3% total emissions reductions below 1990 levels. This is half what Canada signed on for with the Kyoto Protocols, and well below the necessary scientific cuts.” Cameron Fenton from Montreal explained. “Without C-311, Canada’s current climate strategy makes each and every Canadian complicit in the drowning of Small Island nations, the spread of drought around the world, and the vast human suffering that will be the result of global climate chaos.”

Canadians of all ages have been emailing, phoning and approaching their MP's over the past week – including two Facebook campaigns which has garnered over 600 actors in two days – to demand Climate Action from a government which has, to date, failed to take action at home and blocked international attempts to reach a fair, ambitious and binding treaty. According to a poll in early December 2009, nearly 75% of Canadians are embarrassed at our government's inaction on Climate Change and want them to do more.

Originally presented as Bill C-377, the Climate Change Accountability Act was previously supported by the three major opposition parties and only stopped by Stephen Harper's first Prorogation of Parliament. The current bill is supported by both the NDP and Bloc, but the Liberal party – since the nomination of Michael Ignatieff as leader – has shown wavering support for the bill.

“Climate change should not be a partisan issue, it is an issue of the utmost importance that affects all Canadians. Politicians need to understand this, regardless of what political party they belong to,” said Meghan Larson of Halifax. “Michael Ignatieff and the Liberal Party need to turn the tide and make the right decision for the Canadian residents they represent. We are calling on them to take a stand and support Bill C-311.”

Actions will be taking place online and across Canada between now and the April 14 to demand climate leadership.

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Contacts:
Cameron Fenton, Montreal: (514) 467-6413
Kimia Ghomeshi, Toronto: (416) 294-1602
Meghan Larson, Halifax: (902) 293-2994
Amber Church, Whitehorse: (867) 335-4884
Sarah McEwen, Winnipeg: (204) 979-0930
Maryam Adrangi, Toronto: (416) 996-3478