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It might sometimes feel as though you need a PhD to sift through the “blah blah blah” of political rhetoric around climate change, as activist Greta Thunberg calls it, but as negotiations at the COP26 summit continue, policy experts say there are ways to ignore the spin and figure out what leaders are really saying.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stood behind a podium at COP26 and encouraged the world to follow Canada’s lead to limit warming to 1.5 C, the target set under the Paris Agreement.
The prime minister pointed to the example set by his government’s carbon pricing framework and announced that Canada would also start capping oil and gas sector emissions because “what’s even better than pricing emissions is ensuring that they don’t happen in the first place.”
The problem, climate experts point out, is that since Trudeau’s plan doesn’t cap oil and gas production and exports, that policy won’t actually prevent emissions from happening.
It’s just one of many ways that leaders have a tendency to cherry pick and paint themselves in the best light when it comes to tackling climate change.
<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/COP26?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#COP26</a> has been named the must excluding COP ever.<br><br>This is no longer a climate conference.<br><br>This is a Global North greenwash festival.<br><br>A two week celebration of business as usual and blah blah blah.
Kathryn Harrison, a political science professor at the University of British Columbia who specializes in climate policy, has been attending the summit in Glasgow, an annual meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP), the global decision-making body set up in the 1990s to implement the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and subsequent climate agreements.
She also noticed how Saudi Arabia and Kuwait were dressing up their “already-unambitious” targets with language such as “circular economy.”
A circular economy aims to tackle climate change and pollution by reusing and repurposing existing products as much as possible.
“That sounds good,” Harrison said. “Except their plan for carbon capture and sequestration, essentially injecting waste underground, is not consistent with the idea.”
CBC asked Harrison and other experts for some advice on how to sort substance from spin:
Tip 1: Trust independent experts, not politicians
Taryn Fransen, an international climate policy expert and a senior fellow with the World Resources Institute, said her main advice is to pay attention to what independent climate analysts are saying.
“There are a lot of independent experts out there who will give you their unvarnished view about how ambitious the target is,” she said.
“All politicians want to paint their performance in the best possible light.”
Leaders can be quite slippery in how they measure their country’s progress in cutting emissions, because nations were allowed to choose different baseline years under the Paris Agreement.
Concordia University assistant professor Sam Rowan, whose research focuses on climate politics, said that leads to a panoply of targets that aren’t always connected to reality.
“Scientists and researchers are able to kind of sift through the noise, but it makes the whole discourse more difficult,” he said.
Tip 2: Listen for policies not pretty words
COP26 has been a non-stop parade of global leaders announcing new emissions-reduction targets and percentages, and policy experts say people should look beyond those promises to see if there’s any substance to back them up.
“You want to think about what policies the government has put in place. What concrete steps are governments taking to meet their promises? Because these percentages don’t tell the whole story,” Rowan said.
Have questions about COP26 or climate science, policy or politics? Email ask@cbc.ca or join us live in the comments now.
Harrison said she’s noticed a lot of countries have been throwing around net zero as a goal with no real plan.
“Net zero is an increasingly prevalent concept that can hide all manner of sins,” she said.
“Some countries are committing to net zero in the distant future but not backing it up with more near-term reduction commitments, which are needed for that to be credible.”
Tip 3: Ask a lot of questions
Another way to cut through the noise of political spin is to ask questions — either to your elected representative or an independent expert.
It’s not just about whether leaders have plans to meet their climate targets, Harrison said. It’s also important to find out what the expected impact of that plan is.
“That’s important because policies that sound good, such as subsidies, often won’t accomplish as much or will cost more than policies that are less popular, like carbon pricing,” she said.
“It’s critical that our climate policies respect Indigenous rights and avoid imposing greater costs on low-income communities.”
Tip 4: Remember almost everyone needs to do more
One red flag in climate talk, experts point out, is when leaders say they’re already doing enough.
Fransen said to limit global warming, countries need to be phasing out fossil fuels as quickly as possible, eliminating deforestation and promoting forestation.
“If your government is really doing all it can on those fronts, then that’s great and you can feel good about it. But for nearly everybody in the world, that’s not the case,” she said.
In defence of Canada, some will argue the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions are a small part of global emissions compared to China’s or America’s. While that’s true, when emissions are broken down per person, Canadians are among the worst emitters in the world.
According to the Global Carbon Atlas, the country ranks fifth in carbon emissions per capita, producing an average of 14 tonnes of carbon dioxide per person.
“It’s true that if only Canada did anything, we wouldn’t hit that [1.5 C] goal, but it’s also true that if only China did anything or only the U.S. did anything, we wouldn’t hit that goal,” Fransen said. “We all need to get there; otherwise, the math just doesn’t work.”
WATCH | Why half a degree can make a big difference when setting climate targets:
How an extra half degree of warming could ramp up climate danger
6 days ago
Limiting global warming to 1.5 C instead of 2 C could keep some islands above water and save some species from extinction. 4:55
Tip 5: Demand robust reporting of emissions data
It may be a fool’s errand to hope that politicians will stop using rhetoric to play to voters. That’s why policy experts say it’s important they and the public continue to have access to emissions data from world governments.
“Even if a country is setting a target that is relative to a base year or metric that is favourable to its particular circumstances, as long as the accounting and reporting rules are robust, we’ll be able to make sense of that,” Fransen said.
Some reporting and accounting rules of the Paris Agreement are currently under negotiation in Glasgow under the enhanced transparency framework. Fransen said she has colleagues who are watching closely.
While politicians might dance around numbers and percentages, the climate crisis is a global issue that pays no mind to borders and political ideologies.
“We need to get to net zero emissions globally,” Fransen said.
“No matter where you are or where you’re from, you can always find some line to spout about why you shouldn’t be responsible for this … [but] this moment is about leadership. It’s about stepping up. It’s about everybody figuring out what they can do and doing it.”
Have questions about this story? We’re answering as many as we can in the comments.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.