On December 5, former vice president Al Gore met with Donald and Ivanka Trump in an effort to convince the president-elect that he should not gut federal policies and agreements dealing with climate change. Three days later, actor Leonardo DiCaprio also paid the Trump duo a visit, urging them to help build a green, climate-friendly economy with lots of jobs. The two men could not have done less to prevent climate catastrophe if they had flown up to Alaska together and asked the glaciers to please stop melting.
Republished by Climate and Capitalism with permission, from the UK magazine Socialist Review, January 2017
With Donald Trump in the White House the future for our climate looks bleak, but capitalism’s love affair with fossil energy runs much deeper than the desires and personalities of individual politicians.
Jan. 06, 2017 - China is rapidly gaining dominance in the fast-growing, global renewable energy market, as state-owned companies make massive overseas investments to secure the country’s leadership.
Dec 22, 2016 - After spending the past 13 months focused on international and national climate negotiations, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna will turn her attention in 2017 to the more prosaic work of implementation – ensuring that what was agreed to at high-profile political summits is acted upon.
The pan-Canadian climate agreement signed earlier this month by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and 11 provincial and territorial premiers includes a plan for Ottawa to impose a carbon price on provinces that refuse to adopt their own by 2018.
The rental building under construction at the corner of East Hastings and Skeena Street looks similar to countless others being built around the city. But one detail, noted in small print on the promotional sign, calls attention to the difference: it aims to be designated a “Passive House,” a highly energy efficient building. It’s one of only a handful of buildings or houses in Vancouver that either have the designation or are targeting it. Once certified, the Heights — as it’s been dubbed by the developer — will be the largest building in Canada that’s met the Passive House standard.
