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Clearing the air
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Clearing the air

Earlier this month, the Canada’s provincial premiers met in Moncton, New Brunswick, to talk about climate change and greenhouse gases. (We’ll forgive the group of 13 leaders for calling itself “The Council of the Federation,” which sounds like a high school club whose members are equally obsessed with student government and Star Trek.)

There was bad news: there are a bewildering array of options when it comes to dealing with climate change, and one option is to do nothing.

Some provinces "howdy, Alberta" are holding back efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions and refusing to even consider a cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide. (Cap-and-trade would mean all the provinces agree to reduce greenhouse gas emissions together. Those that do better could trade or sell their excess capacity with provinces that don’t meet the target.)  And Ontario refused to pass vehicle emissions standards that would reduce air pollution.

There was also good news: twelve of thirteen provinces and territories agreed to adopt the California standards. When it comes to climate change plans, it’s clear that there’s still a lot to be worked out. And that’s why it’s important for Canadians to let our elected leaders know that we care about seeing action on climate change.

Learn more:

• See how the provinces compare on greenhouse gas emissions and other aspects of climate change with the David Suzuki Foundation’s report, All Over The Map 2006.

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