Home › Federal Actions › Liberal  Party MPs – January 12 2021

Liberal  Party MPs – January 12 2021

Posted on Posted in Federal Actions

Liberal  Party MPs                                                                                          January 12 2021

Dear Members of Parliament

Re: the proposed Climate Change Accountability Act and Bill C-12

We are climate change activists who consider the climate crisis the greatest challenge to our world, with the prospect of massive extinctions, well beyond the alarming deaths from the coronavirus pandemic. You may know that 2020 and 2016 were the hottest two years on record, but do you realize just how bad our  record is on GHG emission reductions?

  • Our emissions are 20% ABOVE 1990 levels, when we first made a commitment to reduce.
  • Meanwhile, the UK has reduced its emissions by 40%, (1990-2018), Germany by 36% and the EU as a whole by 21%. Even the United States is less of a climate criminal than we are, with GHG emission increases at 7%.

We very much welcome the announced substantial increase in the carbon tax, but so much more is needed. Bill C-12 is far weaker the model UK Climate Change Act of 2008, which has resulted in substantial emission decreases. It has been suggested that the bill be withdrawn and re-written to include:

a  target for 2025

  • five-year  carbon budgets
  • an independent review panel of experts
  • accountability, that is, sanctions for failure to meet targets
  • (The UK Act is a model on all these, and other, points.)
    • Other improvements not requiring legislation: We advocate the establishment of a Climate Change Officer, akin to the Public Health Officer, Dr Teresa Tam, to bring expertise without political partisanship. We propose the revival of the National Roundtable on Environment and Economy, which did good work, then was terminated by Stephen Harper.

The end to fossil fuel subsidies.

  • We remind you that announcement of an improved target for 2030 is overdue; it should have been done in 2020, in line with a COP21 commitment.

So much is at stake on climate change: we MUST act now for the sake of today’s children and grandchildren, and the survival indeed of many creatures great and small.

 

We would be happy to hold zoom meetings with MPs to pursue these issues. Please contact info@justearth.net

Yours sincerely