Today, the House of Commons saw two separate motions calling on Canada to declare a climate change emergency. This is a big deal, since it means many of our politicians are finally waking up to see climate change as what it is -- a global crisis that demands urgent action.
But, actions speak louder than words. If, and likely when, it passes next week, this emergency declaration will still be backed up by a climate plan that misses the Paris targets and puts us on track to exceed 4ºC of global temperature rise.
Demands for real climate justice got a welcome boost recently as youth walked out of schools worldwide on March 15, urged to go “on strike” by sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden. Images in mainstream and social media exploded with pictures of young people marching into plazas across the world, confronting intransigent elected officials and speaking truth to power.
Children can be effective messengers to shift their parents’ level of concern about climate change because they aren’t seen as holding any entrenched political ideology, according to a paper published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.
Children can be effective messengers to shift their parents’ level of concern about climate change because they aren’t seen as holding any entrenched political ideology, according to a paper published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change.
In a month where unprecedented floods have ravaged many Canadian communities, the immediate perils of climate change have never been more evident. At the same time, the news is full of reports underlining the economic anxiety felt by many Canadians. One recent poll showed that nearly half of us fear that we’re only $200 away from personal bankruptcy.
Ted Hogg’s research usually takes him much deeper in Canada’s boreal forest — but on a chilly day strolling through Edmonton’s river valley, it doesn’t take long before he sees examples of the damage he’s looking for.
Pointing to several of the snow bearing trees, he indicates the deaths he’s already witnessing from climate change.
The climate crisis is here. Arctic permafrost is melting, forests, towns, and Indigenous territories are burning. States of emergency – declared for once-in-a-century floods – are becoming commonplace, and millions around the world already face dislocation and starvation.
But that’s not the only thing keeping us up at night. Many of us are struggling to find an affordable place to live, or a decent job to support our families. Hate crimes and racism are on the rise. And promise to Indigenous peoples have yet to be implemented.
