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Time to act

December 08, 2009 20:12

A recent Harris-Decima poll suggests that two-thirds of Canadians consider climate change a defining crisis requiring strong leadership.

It's hard to imagine, however, that many of those Canadians would anticipate much in the way of leadership on global warming from Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who has decided to join world leaders at the largest-ever climate change conference, now underway in Copenhagen.

Before leaving, Harper said the Conservatives have no plans to alter their stated policy of reducing greenhouse gases by 20 per cent by 2020. And Canada continues to wait to see what the U.S. intends to enact with regards to 'cap and trade' systems.

The reception Harper receives at this conference, expected to attract representatives from more than 190 nations, will likely be chilly. Canada is not viewed as wearing a white hat on the environment, quite the opposite.

The reason is not simply that our federal government failed to live up to Kyoto, but that we are champions of 'dirty oil'. The Alberta tar sands currently produce about 40 million tonnes of emissions, about three times as much as regular oil production. Estimates suggest that the amount of oil that can be recovered from the tar sands is 175 billion barrels, which amounts to more than 110 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere. That's hardly good news for the global thermostat.

But, as a consummate politician, Harper is well aware his powerbase lies in Alberta and he'd much rather upset a bunch of foreign leaders or eastern liberals than he would oil producers in the province he once suggested building a firewall around.

So those looking for action on emissions in Canada may have no choice but to look to our biggest customer for oil, the United States. Reports suggest that President Barrack Obama will at least consider penalizing dirty fuels through a national 'Low-Carbon Fuel Standard'. It's a move that could force oil producers to meet strict environmental standards before delivering their product.

If Harper and his crew had exhibited an ounce of foresight on this issue, the industry could conceivably already be working under greener conditions and not be left so vulnerable to American legislation.

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