Dear editor,
Polls have shown that the majority of Canadians want Canada to be a climate leader yet when you look at the most recent graphs of emissions from the G7 countries, Canada’s emissions per capita are way above other countries, even the U.S.
The world has passed 350 parts per million (ppm) of carbon in the atmosphere which is the maximum amount of carbon to maintain a balance of life on earth. We are at 417ppm and rising.
New fossil fuel infrastructure like the Trans Mountain Pipeline and Coastal Gas Link carrying fracked methane gas known as LNG, will inevitably lead to a world of climate chaos.
Humans in other parts of the world are already dying as they watch their rivers, land and air become polluted.
In Canada, we only have to endure uncontrollable fires with summers full of smoke, or floods and storms that destroy much in its path. These things will increase as we continue to burn fossil fuels and release methane into the atmosphere.
Our federal and provincial governments say they are on board with doing something to mitigate climate change, but saying there’s a climate crisis then buying a pipeline with taxpayer dollars (in the case of the federal Liberals) is not understanding the emergency.
We still need the existing fossil fuels to transition but we do not need to expand. While the price of renewables has drastically been reduced, the price of gas, oil and coal have been kept on life support by our governments through subsidies, tax deductions, and reduced royalties.
Even though our governments want to do the right thing, they are under the direction of the gas and oil industry that has the final say over their environmental agenda.
They are moving in slow incremental steps, while the planet burns.
Barb Berger,
Comox