Local Disasters, Political Shifts Draw Voters’ Attention to Climate – The Energy Mix: Clean Prosperity Executive Director Michael Bernstein agreed it’ll be
“a major challenge for the Liberals to convince voters that they’re
serious about the file while still defending some of the actions they’ve
taken to bring the oil and gas sector along.” After months of
high-profile infighting in the federal Green Party, he sees the New
Democrats poised to “claim the mantle” of climate leadership during a
campaign in which “you’re going to hear a lot about climate”.

Opinion research before and immediately after the election call pointed
to climate change as a top-tier issue in voters’ minds, and the last
couple of days have solidified that position. The Angus Reed Institute lists
environment and climate in first place as the topic voters identify as
their top priority, at 22%, an increase from 17% last September, and 38%
include it in their top three. “For most voters, climate change is
paramount among those who currently say they will support the Liberal
Party, NDP or Bloc Québécois,” the polling agency writes, placing in the
top three for 60% of likely NDP voters, 55% of Bloc supporters, and 51%
of Liberals.

Local Disasters, Political Shifts Draw Voters’ Attention to Climate – The Energy Mix: Clean Prosperity Executive Director Michael Bernstein agreed it’ll be
“a major challenge for the Liberals to convince voters that they’re
serious about the file while still defending some of the actions they’ve
taken to bring the oil and gas sector along.” After months of
high-profile infighting in the federal Green Party, he sees the New
Democrats poised to “claim the mantle” of climate leadership during a
campaign in which “you’re going to hear a lot about climate”.Opinion research before and immediately after the election call pointed
to climate change as a top-tier issue in voters’ minds, and the last
couple of days have solidified that position. The Angus Reed Institute lists
environment and climate in first place as the topic voters identify as
their top priority, at 22%, an increase from 17% last September, and 38%
include it in their top three. “For most voters, climate change is
paramount among those who currently say they will support the Liberal
Party, NDP or Bloc Québécois,” the polling agency writes, placing in the
top three for 60% of likely NDP voters, 55% of Bloc supporters, and 51%
of Liberals.Read More

‘There’s nothing left in Lytton’: the Canadian village destroyed by wildfire – picture essay: For days, a wildfire had been burning to the north
of the village, keeping residents on edge. But now, dark smoke was
billowing in from the south, down by the rail trestle. Unbeknown to
Abbott and others, a second fire was moving rapidly towards the village
and surrounding First Nations communities.

“I
opened up the front door and you could see the flames,” he said. “The
smoke was thick blue and black, and created a whirlwind that tore
through the area.”

Within 30 minutes, most
structures, including Abbott’s house, were destroyed. He and wife
Christine had only minutes to escape, scrambling to save their three
grandchildren and dogs.

‘There’s nothing left in Lytton’: the Canadian village destroyed by wildfire – picture essay: For days, a wildfire had been burning to the north
of the village, keeping residents on edge. But now, dark smoke was
billowing in from the south, down by the rail trestle. Unbeknown to
Abbott and others, a second fire was moving rapidly towards the village
and surrounding First Nations communities.“I
opened up the front door and you could see the flames,” he said. “The
smoke was thick blue and black, and created a whirlwind that tore
through the area.”Within 30 minutes, most
structures, including Abbott’s house, were destroyed. He and wife
Christine had only minutes to escape, scrambling to save their three
grandchildren and dogs.Read More

When Dire Climate News Came, Canada’s Front Pages Crumpled | The Tyee: Note: I certainly don’t want to stand up for Postmedia newspapers, but if anyone hasn’t noticed, our federal government doesn’t take it very serious either.

But even the Canadian newspapers that did promote the importance of
the IPCC report were less generous than many of their American
counterparts. The biggest exception was Torstar’s the Toronto Star,
which was found to have the “most accurate climate coverage” in a recent study of 17 international newspapers published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
It used about half of its front page to promote three staff-authored
stories about that report the day after its release, beneath the
headline “Code Red.”

But other newspapers in the Postmedia chain
didn’t seem as worried about that warning. They included the Calgary
Herald, the Edmonton Journal, the Vancouver Sun, and the flagship
National Post, which was found to have the “least accurate” climate
change coverage in the Environmental Research Letters study. Those newspapers fronted the IPCC report by promoting a story about how Canada’s oil patch remains “confident” about its future, despite findings that the UN’s Guterres said “must sound a death knell” for fossil fuels.

When Dire Climate News Came, Canada’s Front Pages Crumpled | The Tyee: Note: I certainly don’t want to stand up for Postmedia newspapers, but if anyone hasn’t noticed, our federal government doesn’t take it very serious either.But even the Canadian newspapers that did promote the importance of
the IPCC report were less generous than many of their American
counterparts. The biggest exception was Torstar’s the Toronto Star,
which was found to have the “most accurate climate coverage” in a recent study of 17 international newspapers published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
It used about half of its front page to promote three staff-authored
stories about that report the day after its release, beneath the
headline “Code Red.”But other newspapers in the Postmedia chain
didn’t seem as worried about that warning. They included the Calgary
Herald, the Edmonton Journal, the Vancouver Sun, and the flagship
National Post, which was found to have the “least accurate” climate
change coverage in the Environmental Research Letters study. Those newspapers fronted the IPCC report by promoting a story about how Canada’s oil patch remains “confident” about its future, despite findings that the UN’s Guterres said “must sound a death knell” for fossil fuels.Read More

Big Oil’s no-good, very-bad week continues | Corporate Knights: In its July oil market report,
the IEA cautioned  that “while prices at these levels could increase
the pace of electrification of the transport sector and help accelerate
energy transitions, they could also put a drag on the economic
recovery.” It added, “Volatility does not help ensure orderly and secure
energy transitions.”

Meanwhile, back in Canada, oil industry advocates continue to suggest
that the sector should be positioning itself to capitalize on the next oil boom.
However, in a report released last month, Jeffrey Craig of Veritas
Investment Research said, “Given the pressure to both cut emissions and
invest in renewable energy, we expect the super majors to shed mostly
upstream oil and gas assets [in the oil sands] to fund investments into
renewables.”

Right on cue, when BP slashed its long-term oil price outlook in late June, the company’s oil sands investments were rendered “worthless,” Reuters reports. The fate of those stranded assets remains to be seen.

Big Oil’s no-good, very-bad week continues | Corporate Knights: In its July oil market report,
the IEA cautioned  that “while prices at these levels could increase
the pace of electrification of the transport sector and help accelerate
energy transitions, they could also put a drag on the economic
recovery.” It added, “Volatility does not help ensure orderly and secure
energy transitions.”Meanwhile, back in Canada, oil industry advocates continue to suggest
that the sector should be positioning itself to capitalize on the next oil boom.
However, in a report released last month, Jeffrey Craig of Veritas
Investment Research said, “Given the pressure to both cut emissions and
invest in renewable energy, we expect the super majors to shed mostly
upstream oil and gas assets [in the oil sands] to fund investments into
renewables.”Right on cue, when BP slashed its long-term oil price outlook in late June, the company’s oil sands investments were rendered “worthless,” Reuters reports. The fate of those stranded assets remains to be seen.Read More

Federal government rejects Grassy Mountain coal project in Alberta | CBC News: “The Government of Canada must make decisions based on the best
available scientific evidence while balancing economic and
environmental considerations,” Wilkinson said in a release.

“It
is in Canada’s best interests to safeguard our water ways for healthy
fish populations like the westslope cutthroat trout, respect Indigenous
peoples’ culture and way of life, and protect the environment for future
generations.”

Federal government rejects Grassy Mountain coal project in Alberta | CBC News: “The Government of Canada must make decisions based on the best
available scientific evidence while balancing economic and
environmental considerations,” Wilkinson said in a release. “It
is in Canada’s best interests to safeguard our water ways for healthy
fish populations like the westslope cutthroat trout, respect Indigenous
peoples’ culture and way of life, and protect the environment for future
generations.”Read More