The Toronto Star ran an opinion piece yesterday about whether Rona Abrose (Canada’s new Conservative Minister for the Environment) should withdraw from her position of chair for the United nations committee for post-Kyoto climate change discussions.
With this opinion, the Star and I are in complete agreement.
Ms. Ambrose (as the face of our Conservative government) has been very vocal about Canada’s Kyoto targets being “unrealistic” and the need for a “made in Canada” program to address climate change.
But the simple facts are these:
- Increases in atmospheric greenhouse gases are the major contributor to global climate change.
- These changes will have devastating effects in terms of more frequent and violent storms, droughts, flooding, rising sea levels, changes in the flow of fresh water systems, massive species loss, deforestation, and a whole host of effect I can’t begin to list here.
- Mankind’s activities (releasing the hydrocarbons stored over millions of years within a hundred years) is the primary cause of the increase of atmspheric greenhouse gases.
- The only way to address climate change is to reduce our emissions of greenhouse gases.
- The Kyoto agreement is not enough of a reduction to stop climate change, but is acknowledged by experts the world over as a necessary first step.
- The economic costs of not addressing climate change will be far, far greater than the cost of meeting our Kyoto agreements.
So, despite Ms. Ambrose view of our Kyoto targets as “unrealistic”, we really only have two choices:
Pay the piper now. Or pay far more later.
Each election is an opportunity for you to make this choice.
