TORONTO – The Harper Conservatives’ deliberate inaction on climate change will make Environment Minister Peter Kent’s speech today in Toronto a tough sell for Canadians, Liberal Environment Critic Gerard Kennedy said today.
“Short of a mea culpa and an apology, it’s impossible for Minister Kent to deliver a credible speech on the topic of Conservative action on climate change,” said Mr. Kennedy. “While his government has no emissions reduction plan, Canadians and Canadian business are paying the price. Businesses can’t plan and are missing out on a global Clean Energy market already estimated to be worth $162 billion.”
Minister Kent is doing a promotional speech to the Economic Club of Canada in Toronto today advertised to “highlight Government of Canada action on climate change.”
“One thing is painfully clear: under the Conservatives, Canada will not even come close to reaching its modest emission targets,” said Mr. Kennedy.
Mr. Kennedy offered a list of ‘actions’ the Harper Conservative government has taken on climate change that Minister Kent should explain:
- Abandoned global climate treaties;
- Undermined UN climate change talks and awarded the Colossal Fossil award four years in a row;
- Eliminated climate change research intended to help Canadians adapt to climate change; and
- Cut off successful energy retrofit programs helping lower-and middle-class Canadians to reduce their energy costs through green renovations.
An international study released at the most recent climate change talks rated Canada 54 out of 57 countries for progress on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions.
“In his speech, Minister Kent should admit the Conservatives’ flimsy tactic of hiding behind the U.S. Congress no longer holds up,” said Mr. Kennedy, pointing out how this week the government-appointed National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy itself urged Canada to act independently and introduce a carbon cap-and-trade system in order to build a cleaner, more prosperous Canadian economy – recommendations flat out refused by Minister Kent.
A Liberal government would establish a “cap-and-trade system” that is both verifiable and binding, with hard limits or caps that lead to absolute reductions in GHGs. Under the Liberal plan, a Canadian cap-and-trade system must:
- Be equitable to all regions;
- Emissions targets must not punish early-adopters who have already taken action to reduce emissions;
- Cover all industries with no exceptions;
- Be compatible with a U.S. cap-and-trade and other systems in the world; and
- Put a price on carbon by permitting credits to be auctioned and traded in international markets.
“Even Canadian business is now offside with the Harper government on climate change. The Liberal Party believes now is the time to pull all sectors together to reconcile our economy and our environment and build the jobs and competitive economy we need for tomorrow,” concluded Mr. Kennedy.
