Harper administration now ranks below Bush administration on global ridicule scale
Ottawa (12 Dec. 2008) - Canada has one of the worst records on earth in dealing with climate change.
Only Saudi Arabia has a worse ranking in a new Climate Change Performance Index of 57 industrialized countries, released by Germanwatch and Climate Action Network Europe at the annual United Nations climate change summit in Poznan, Poland.
Banner at summit in Poland
Jim Prentice, environment minister in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative cabinet, is among nearly 150 environment ministers and other top officials from close to 200 countries attending the summit.
The summit is attempting to work toward a new international agreement to follow Kyoto and come into force in 2013.
Prentice attempted to defend Canada's abysmal record by arguing in interviews and statements from Poland that the Harper government is balancing climate change objectives against challenges posted by international financial crisis. But the new report - and his lame defence - prompted a barrage of criticism.
The Liberal, NDP and Bloc Québécois parties voted two years ago in Parliament to seriously address the issue of climate change.
'A joke'
Steven Guilbeault of the Canadian group Équiterre said the Harper administration's so-called action plan is a joke because it means Canada will still be above its 1990 level by 2020. "It is not an action plan. It is a public relations exercise that has nothing to do with protecting the planet," he said.
Marthinus van Schalkwyk, South Africa's Environment Minister, took the unusual step of issuing a statement criticizing Canada by name, along with Japan, Russia and Australia, saying none of these countries have issued "credible and ambitious" targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.
Michael Martin, Canada's chief negotiator at the talks, has attracted attention as well by balking at buying emission credits - he dismissed them as "hot air"- to help Canada meet its Kyoto targets. The Canadian delegation also objected on behalf of the Harper government to measures to grant indigenous people land rights when establishing plans to protect tropical forests.
Canada has had one of the poorest records in the developing world in controlling greenhouse gas emissions. It is about 30% above Kyoto Protocol targets, which called for the country to cut greenhouse gases to a level 6% below 1990 levels during the period between 2008 and 2012.
"Canada's climate performance could hardly be worse, and we're still moving in the wrong direction," says Matthew Bramley, spokesman for the environmental think tank, the Pembina Institute, which contributed to the assessment study.
Another blow
Another blow to Canada at the talks came from the apparent resignation of senior Environment Canada scientist Don MacIver as chair of the organizing committee for the World Meteorological Organization's climate conference.
He was to have spoken at the talks, with his travel costs covered by the WMO, but Ottawa refused to give him permission to attend. MacIver has declined to comment on the circumstances around his resignation. Environment Canada would not say why he was not sent to the talks.
Sweden, Germany, France, India, Brazil, the United Kingdom and Denmark were at the top of the ranking, which was based on emissions levels, trends and policies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, some countries are proposing to soften their commitments because of international circumstances.
Also near the bottom of the list were Russia, Australia and the United States but they still ranked ahead Canada.
NUPGE
The National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) is one of Canada's largest labour organizations with over 340,000 members. Our mission is to improve the lives of working families and to build a stronger Canada by ensuring our common wealth is used for the common good. NUPGE
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