Tag Archives: Climate Change

Missing The Forest: How Carbon Loopholes For Logging Hinder Canada’S Climate Leadership

Governments are failing to report the annual release of more than 80 megatonnes (Mt) per year of greenhouse gases from boreal forests, Environmental Defence Canada, Nature Canada, Nature Québec, and Natural Resources Defense Council conclude, in a report [pdf] released in the week leading up to the COP. That’s a significant increase over Environment and Climate Change Canada’s economy-wide estimate of 730 Mt per year.

The report says Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), the federal department that does the carbon accounting for the forestry sector, creates an artificial carbon sink by excluding the impact of major wildfires in primary forest (areas undisturbed by significant human disturbance) and annual clearcutting of 400,000 hectares. The NRCan inventory in 2019 said managed forests were a net annual carbon source of 5 Mt, but a more accurate assessment would be 85 Mt, according to Jennifer Skene, natural climate solutions policy manager with NRDC’s International Program.

Protecting forests is essential to avoid the worst impacts of climate change because trees absorb one-third of human-caused carbon emissions from the atmosphere. Canada’s boreal forests hold some of the world’s last large stretches of primary forest, which plays a crucial role in achieving a sustainable future, the report notes.

Canada’s boreal forest, which holds some of the world’s last large stretches of remaining primary forest, plays a crucial role in achieving a sustainable, livable future. The Canadian boreal is both a biodiversity hotspot and the world’s most carbon-dense terrestrial ecosystem, storing twice as much carbon per hectare as tropical forests,2 making it an essential ally in the fight against climate change. As the steward of this forest, Canada has both a tremendous responsibility and an opportunity to lead on effective, ambitious natural climate solutions that protect the boreal.

Despite the boreal’s global importance, it is facing considerable threats from unsustainable industrial logging. While Canada has made leading commitments to a broad portfolio of natural climate solutions, the logging industry continues to clearcut more than 400,000 hectares of the boreal each year—about five NHL hockey rinks every minute3—much of this in irreplaceable primary forests.4 This conversion of primary forests into second-growth forests, which store less carbon, is transferring large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, driving significant climate impacts.

Download the pdf report here

Fossil Production Dangerously Out of Sync With Paris 1.5°C Limit

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The UNEP 2021 Production Gap Report finds that governments’ fossil fuel production plans are dangerously out of sync with Paris limits. The Report “tracks the discrepancy between governments’ planned fossil fuel production and global production levels consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C or 2°C,” says the UNEP press release.

Fossils Out of Sync with Paris 1.5°C

“Despite increased climate ambitions and net-zero commitments, governments still plan to produce more than double the amount of fossil fuels in 2030 than what would be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C and 45% more than consistent with limiting warming to 2°C,” according to the report.

The main findings include: (sourced from the press release)

The world’s governments plan to produce around 110% more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting warming to 1.5°C, and 45% more than consistent with 2°C. The size of the production gap has remained largely unchanged compared to our prior assessments.
Governments’ production plans and projections would lead to about 240% more coal, 57% more oil, and 71% more gas in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
Global gas production is projected to increase the most between 2020 and 2040 based on governments’ plans. This continued, long-term global expansion in gas production is inconsistent with the Paris Agreement’s temperature limits.
Countries have directed over USD 300 billion in new funds towards fossil fuel activities since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic — more than they have towards clean energy.
In contrast, international public finance for production of fossil fuels from G20 countries and major multilateral development banks (MDBs) has significantly decreased in recent years; one-third of MDBs and G20 development finance institutions (DFIs) by asset size have adopted policies that exclude fossil fuel production activities from future finance.
Verifiable and comparable information on fossil fuel production and support — from both governments and companies — is essential to addressing the production gap.

Click here to watch the Production Gap Report video

Meanwhile in Canada

In the report Canada shows up as the world’s fourth-biggest oil and gas producer, and global fossil fuel production in 2030 will still be more than double the amount that would match a 1.5°C climate pathway, according to the 2021 Production Gap Report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),” writes Mitchell Beer in The Energy Mix.

IEA calls for Faster Fossil Phaseout

In yet another recent article, Beer focused on the IEA’s (International Energy Agency) call for a much “faster fossil phaseout and more renewables investment to keep 1.5°C withing reach.” Current climate pledges “cover less than 20% of the gap in emissions reductions that needs to be closed by 2030 to keep a 1.5°C path within reach,” says the IEA World Energy Outlook report.”

To shift those trends, the IEA Report calls for: (excerpt from The Energy Mix)

• A doubling of countries’ current commitments to deploy photovoltaic solar and wind, along with a “huge buildout” of grid infrastructure, greater flexibility in electricity systems, more reliance on hydropower, a rapid coal phaseout, electrification of transportation and space heat, and “use of nuclear power where acceptable”;

• A “relentless” focus on energy efficiency, making better use of materials and shifting behaviours to speed the reduction in the amount of energy the global economy uses for each unit of output it produces;

• Rapid methane reductions as a “key tool to limit near-term global warming”;

• A “big boost” to clean energy innovation, focused on technologies like hydrogen, low-carbon fuels, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage—particularly to drive emission reductions in energy-intensive industries like steel and cement, and in long-haul transport. While “all the technologies needed to achieve deep emissions cuts to 2030 are available,” the IEA says, nearly half of the reductions required by 2050 “come from technologies that today are at the demonstration or prototype stage.”

“Every data point showing the speed of change in energy can be countered by another showing the stubbornness of the status quo…for all the advances being made by renewables and electric mobility, 2021 is seeing a large rebound in coal and oil use. Largely for this reason, it is also seeing the second-largest annual increase in CO2 emissions in history.” — IEA

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Two Fatal Flaws with Net-Zero By 2050: Net-Zero and By 2050

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The “Net-Zero by 2050” fantasy is now the “de facto climate goal” writes Peter Kalmus in his latest Guardian opinion piece. “This is deadly procrastination,” he adds. Kalmus tweeted that there are two fatal flaws with “net-zero by 2050”. One is “net zero.” The other is “by 2050.” The net-zero craze has been embraced by world leaders, politicians of all stripes and even fossil fuel executives, which in itself is a big red flag.

Two Fatal Flaws

“These two flaws provide cover for big oil and politicians who wish to preserve the status quo. Together they comprise a deadly prescription for inaction and catastrophically high levels of irreversible climate and ecological breakdown.” — Peter Kalmus

“Net-Zero” is wishful thinking because it assumes a knock-out technological breakthrough on carbon capture that is nowhere on the horizon. The concept is a very useful distraction that “represents magical thinking rooted in our society’s technology fetish,” says Kalmus. “Net-Zero” is the new climate science denialism which is more subtle but yet more effective than the outright climate denial of previous years.

“By 2050” is the other fatal flaw. There is zero sense of urgency in a deadline that is three decades away. It leaves everybody off the hook. Individuals who are concerned about climate change—but not concerned enough to do something about it—find “by 2050” quite convenient, something they’ll get around to eventually. Elected leaders find the phrase very user-friendly—in the short term—because they’ll no longer be around to answer for their inaction on climate after their term in office.

My latest: There are two fatal flaws with “net zero by 2050.” One is “net zero.” The other is “by 2050”.https://t.co/yssrNNBOGQ

— Dr Peter Kalmus STOP LINE 3 (@ClimateHuman) September 10, 2021

So where do we go from here?

Empty commitments to Net-Zero by 2050 by the fossil fuel sector, the world’s big banks, governments and large corporations do nothing to tackle the climate crisis in the short or medium term. The recent code-red alert by the IPCC makes it abundantly clear that the world must transition away from high-carbon-emitting fossils starting immediately. We are running out of time.

Kalmus, and others like Canada’s Seth Klein, are calling for society to shift into emergency mode with a WWII herculean effort to tackle the climate crisis.

Kalmus points out that “any zero goal must be paired with a commitment to annual reductions leading steadily to this goal year by year, and binding plans across all levels of government to achieve those annual targets.” Forget “by 2050”. We should be looking at no later than 2035.

Plus we need to forget the “net” in “net zero”. Carbon capture and other negative emissions schemes will only “continue to provide the distraction and delay sought by the fossil fuel industry. It would be beyond foolish to gamble our planet on technologies that may never exist at scale,” according to Kalmus.

Klein has four markers for when you know that a government has shifted into emergency mode:

It spends what it takes to win;
It creates new economic institutions to get the job done;
It shifts from voluntary and incentive-based policies to mandatory measures;
It tells the truth about the severity of the crisis and communicates a sense of urgency about the measures necessary to combat it.

Our planet is being pummeled by the worsening impacts of climate change. Adults and world leaders have a deep moral obligation to not saddle the youth of the world with the climate failures of our generation.

(Peter Kalmus is a climate scientist and author of Being the Change: Live Well and Spark a Climate Revolution.)

(Seth Klein is the head of the Climate Emergency Unit and author of The Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency.)

Rolly Montpellier @Below2C_
Roland (Rolly) Montpellier is the co-founder and Editor of Below2°C. He’s a climate activist, a climate communicator and a blogger. He’s a member of Climate Reality Canada, 350.Org (Ottawa), Citizens’ Climate Lobby (Canada) and climate ambassador for We Don’t Have Time. You can follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin.

This work was first seen on Below2C and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Mr. Wilkinson: You Can’t Be Canada’s Climate Minister and Promote Fossil Fuels

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Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

By Below2C | GASP| @Gasp4Change –
August 17, 2021

The message to Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, in a letter drafted by two members of GASP (Grandmothers Act to Save the Planet) is powerful. Lorraine Green and Carole Holmes express their disapproval of Wilkinson’s support of fossil fuels while acting as Climate Minister. You can’t do both.

There is not a person in Canada today who will escape the effects of the deceit of the Trudeau government climate plan which includes the expansion of fossil fuels. In May, the EPA called for a drastic scaling back of all new fossil fuel investments as it laid out a clear pathway to net-zero 2050. And the latest IPCC Report—which is sounding alarm bells around the world—also calls for a massive decline in CO² emissions to have just a 50-50 chance of keeping warming below 2°C. (Editor comment)

As Climate Minister, You Can’t Promote Fossil Fuels

Dear Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson,

GASP was terribly disappointed when we heard your comments that Canada will continue to extract oil from the Trans Mountain Pipeline because the revenue is needed to help Canada achieve its long-term climate objectives. This comes on the same day, August 9^th, 2021, that the IPCC published its report that forecasts catastrophic environmental consequences if humans continue burning coal and other fossil fuels.

In an interview with Katie Simpson, on CBC’s Power and Politics, you reaffirmed Canada’s commitment to phasing out fossil fuels and achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, but as we see in the IPCC report, the planet cannot wait until 2050.

Our children, grandchildren, and children everywhere cannot wait till 2050

Forests and Canadian towns that have burnt down this summer in Canada cannot wait till 2050.

Crops, across the prairie provinces, that have withered this summer cannot wait until 2050.

The melting permafrost is impacting the Inuit way of life today. They cannot wait until 2050.

Canada’s commitment to lower emissions 40% – 45% is actually weaker than the IPCC called for. Canada has hugely benefited from extracting and burning fossil fuels and we now have a “CARBON DEBT “to the world. Decarbonization is our only path to survival.

Is it only, we grandmothers, who think it’s absolute nonsense to believe burning fossil fuels can transition us away from fossil fuels? That Canada needs the revenue from the Trans Mountain Pipeline to fight the proliferation of fossil fuels? That focusing on 2050 ‘long-term climate objectives’ sends a message of urgency?

Canada cannot waste time and money on false solutions being pushed by oil and gas companies that sanction more oil and gas production. As a top global and a major fossil fuel exporter, we have both the responsibility and the power to make a difference. We must cut emissions in half this decade, rapidly decarbonize all sectors of the economy, and phase out fossil fuels.

In the past, we have taken our issues to our Halton Liberal MPs – Pam Damoff; Anita Anand; Karina Gould; and Adam vanKoeverden, for whom we have great respect. They have always given us time to meet with them and have been excellent listeners. They all think very highly of you, your knowledge, and expertise, however, we feel they are reluctant to address our concerns with you.

There is no time for delay. The Climate Emergency is NOT a problem of the future, or the next government – it’s here and now and affecting every region of the world.

If, as you say, Canada is serious about the climate crisis, your response to the IPCC report must be a moratorium on fossil fuel expansion in Canada; a freeze on projects like Trans Mountain; and immediate action to fast track just transition legislation.

Every degree of warming that we can prevent means more lives saved; it means more species protected; it means our grandchildren and future generations will inherit a world they can live in.

Lorraine Green is a grandmother, advocate for social justice and gender equality, a climate activist and Co-Chair of GASP (Grand(m)others Act to Save the Planet). You can connect with her on Twitter, @lorraineagreen

Carole Holmes is Co-Chair of GASP, Grandmothers Act to Save the Planet, based in Oakville Ontario. GASP4change.org.

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Another Climate Target Waiting To Be Missed?

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By Rolly Montpellier @Below2C_ June 29, 2021

“Climate change is a challenge that demands ambition…but ambition needs to be matched with action and accountability,” commented CBC News after Prime Minister Trudeau announced Canada’s new commitment to reduce emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030 during the Biden climate summit in April.

Yet Another Climate Target

This latest new “bold” target will play very well going into a likely fall election but one can be very suspicious that it’s just another piece of the progressive climate veneer that masks the Trudeau government’s pro-fossil-fuel agenda. The Trudeau climate formula has been very successful in convincing Canadian voters that Canada is an international climate leader—71% of Canadians want Canada to be a climate leader and think we already are.

Canada has never met any of its previous climate targets over the last three decades. And according to the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), this sad trend will continue. Our 2030 Paris targets are simply out of reach according to the PBO.

Parliamentary Budget Office Warning

The National Observer reports that “Canada will not meet its 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction targets without dramatically scaling up new technologies that the Parliamentary Budget Office warns could be “prohibitively expensive” in a sobering new report.”

It will take “extraordinary measures” to hit Canada’s 2030 GHG reduction targets, says the @PBO_DPB.

We say: well, these are “extraordinary times” so buck up.#cdnpoli #StopTMX https://t.co/oClhyN7Xz8

— North Vancouver Greens (@NorthVan_Greens) June 24, 2021

“We can’t get to 2030 without addressing the elephant in the room, which is (that) oil and gas emissions grew 87 per cent from 1990 to 2019, and it’s currently the largest and fastest-growing source of greenhouse gases in Canada,” said NDP Member of Parliament Taylor Bachrach in response to the PBO report.

A climate plan that includes ongoing support for the expansion of fossil fuels cannot be taken seriously. Under the output-based carbon pricing system, the oil and gas sector will see 80% of its emissions exempt from paying the carbon tax next year, decreasing to 66% by 2030. Exempting the very industry which is causing the climate crisis is ludicrous.

Read the full National Observer article here.

Beware Justin Trudeau. Until he speaks and acts like we’re in a damn emergency, and until he declares that Canada is at war on the climate crisis, do not believe any of his posturing on climate.

For the Trudeau government, setting climate targets is like making a New Year’s resolution. How many of us have done this only to continue the same behaviour that led to the resolution in the first place.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Steve MacLellan

Ramble On

Tag Archives: Climate Change

Missing The Forest: How Carbon Loopholes For Logging Hinder Canada’S Climate Leadership

Fossil Production Dangerously Out of Sync With Paris 1.5°C Limit

Two Fatal Flaws with Net-Zero By 2050: Net-Zero and By 2050

Mr. Wilkinson: You Can’t Be Canada’s Climate Minister and Promote Fossil Fuels

Another Climate Target Waiting To Be Missed?