Trudeau’s climate rhetoric is riveting. So what about the reality?

The international praise shows no sign of abating. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s speech on Monday at the United Nations climate conference in Paris – declaring that “Canada is back” – was received with a standing ovation. Everywhere he went during a short appearance he was met by cheers and demands for selfies. A few days before, the New York Times touted his “swift about-face,” congratulating him for “reversing course” on climate change.

Amazing what a winning smile and a few small gestures can accomplish. For a start, Trudeau had merely to show up to distinguish himself from Canada’s former government. Stephen Harper had skipped last year’s UN climate summit in New York (though stopped by for the free dinner). The Conservative government’s antagonism to these international negotiations was conveyed not with diplomatic niceties, but the sophistication of a gang of apes.

So it’s easy to be encouraged by Trudeau’s change in tone and approach. But when you come back to the table, doesn’t it count what you bring? Over the course of an entire election, and since coming to power, the Liberal government has chosen not to even hint at new emissions targets, and so came to Paris with Stephen Harper’s – well below that of comparable European countries. Turns out the man with the sweet look is packing what the brutish guest before him brought.