42 Nobel Laureates Urge Trudeau to Act With 'Moral Clarity' and Stop Climate-Wrecking Teck Frontier Mine
23 February
Popular
Greenpeace activists unfurl banners after building a wood and card 'oil pipeline' outside the Canadian High Commission, Canada House, to protest against the Trudeau government's plans to build an oil pipeline in British Colombia on April 18, 2018 in London. Chris J Ratcliffe / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
In an open letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, 42 Nobel laureates implored the federal government to "act with the moral clarity required" to tackle the global climate crisis and stop Teck Resources' proposed Frontier tar sands mine.
<p>"The importance of leadership in the coming few years cannot be understated," reads the letter, published Friday in the Guardian's opinion section. "Governments are <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/21/the-governments-sudden-passion-for-climate-technology-is-newfound-and-insincere" style="" target="_blank">lagging scandalously behind</a> what science demands, and what a growing and powerful people-powered movement knows is necessary."</p><p>"There is enough carbon embedded in already operating oil, gas, and coalfields and mines to take us beyond 2°C, let alone 1.5°C," the letter continues, referencing key temperature targets of the 2015 Paris climate accord. "The implications of this are clear: there is no room for expansion of the fossil fuel sector. There is no room for the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/05/when-it-comes-to-climate-hypocrisy-canadas-leaders-have-reached-a-new-low" target="_blank">Teck Frontier tar sands mine</a>."</p>
<div id="3c0df" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9SDIWF1582463719"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1230889418786885632" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Projects that enable fossil-fuel growth at this moment in time are an affront to our state of climate emergency, an… https://t.co/RFmem6gGr4</div> — 350 Canada (@350 Canada)<a href="https://twitter.com/350Canada/statuses/1230889418786885632">1582301880.0</a></blockquote></div><p>According to the letter:</p><blockquote>Projects that enable fossil fuel growth at this moment in time are an affront to our state of climate emergency, and the mere fact that they warrant debate in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/canada" target="_blank">Canada</a> should be seen as a disgrace. They are wholly incompatible with your government's recent commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. And with clear infringements on First Nations rights, such projects fly in the face of rhetoric and purported efforts towards reconciliation.<br><br>The response to the climate crisis will define and destroy legacies in the coming years, and the qualifications for being on the right side of history are clear: an immediate end to fossil fuel financing and expansion along with an ambitious and just transition away from oil and gas production towards zero carbon well before mid-century.<br></blockquote><p>Signatories to the letter are from all around the world and have received Nobel prizes in chemistry, economics, literature, medicine, peace, and physics dating back to 1973. They include Canadian author Alice Munro, awarded a literature prize in 2013, and Canadian biologist Jack W. Szostak, awarded a medicine prize in 2009.</p><p>The tar sands project, first proposed in 2011, has pitted environmentalists in Canada and across the globe against conservatives in Alberta, where the mine could create thousands of jobs while <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2020/01/20/bc-and-alberta-indigenous-leaders-demonstrate-against-major-oilsands-project.html" target="_blank">producing</a> about 260,000 barrels of oil daily and four million tons of climate-heating emissions annually. Trudeau's cabinet is expected to weigh in sometime this month.</p>
<div id="7b286" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="EVWE711582463719"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1230840271111360513" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The world is watching @JustinTrudeau and @CAFreeland! Over 40 @NobelPrize Laureates are calling on you to… https://t.co/qRuz0ictbR</div> — Oil Change International (@Oil Change International)<a href="https://twitter.com/PriceofOil/statuses/1230840271111360513">1582290163.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"Teck still hasn't committed to building Frontier if it's approved," Bloomberg <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/markets/trudeau-e2-80-99s-in-a-bind-over-an-oil-sands-mine-that-might-never-get-built/ar-BBZVdot" target="_blank">reported</a> last week. "The Vancouver-based company's current focus is on advancing the project through the regulatory process, and further decisions will depend on the outcome of that process, market conditions, and other considerations, said Chris Stannell, a Teck spokesman."</p><p>Although Trudeau often presents himself as <a href="https://apnews.com/e294259c977f412cb5ebf24dfc961bbe" target="_blank">committed </a>to addressing the climate crisis, the Liberal prime minister and his government have been criticized for decisions that conflict with scientists' warnings that the world must rapidly move to 100 percent renewable energy to avert climate catastrophe. One such decision was the Trudeau government <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/29/immense-moral-cowardice-trudeau-trashed-government-purchase-climate-killing-kinder" target="_blank">buying</a> the Trans Mountain pipeline and long-delayed expansion project in 2018, which Indigenous people and climate activists <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/05/we-will-continue-fight-protesters-vow-after-canadian-court-dismisses-indigenous" target="_blank">continue</a> to challenge in court.</p><p>Among those <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/rival-rallies-teck-frontier-mine-approval-ottawa-oilsands-calgary-protests-1.5436228" target="_blank">opposed</a> to the Frontier mine are leaders and members of Extinction Rebellion, Indigenous Climate Action, the Tiny House Warriors and the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, who have <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2020/01/20/bc-and-alberta-indigenous-leaders-demonstrate-against-major-oilsands-project.html" target="_blank">held</a> protests aimed at pressuring the Canadian government to block the contested project.</p>
<div id="4ab0f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="RWGZPT1582463719"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1230931456471523329" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Over 40 Nobel Laureates call on @JustinTrudeau and @cafreeland to reject the largest tar sands mine proposal EVER.… https://t.co/lLOx1kmojK</div> — Global Witness (@Global Witness)<a href="https://twitter.com/Global_Witness/statuses/1230931456471523329">1582311903.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"Ultimately, this mine will be so devastating to the climate, and we're in a climate crisis," Extinction Rebellion member Sarah Flynn <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/rival-rallies-teck-frontier-mine-approval-ottawa-oilsands-calgary-protests-1.5436228" target="_blank">told</a> CBC News in January, "so the short-term advantages of the jobs and the income that this mine will offer will be far outweighed by the climate devastation that the whole world will experience."</p><p>Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs <a href="https://www.thestar.com/business/2020/01/20/bc-and-alberta-indigenous-leaders-demonstrate-against-major-oilsands-project.html" target="_blank">told</a> the Toronto Star last month that Trudeau should "walk the walk" of transitioning to a green economy. Phillip noted that "there were commitments made during the last election that the Trudeau government would make decisive moves toward renewable energy and this is an opportunity to follow through on those promises."</p><p>In an op-ed for the Guardian earlier this month, author and activist Bill McKibben <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/feb/05/when-it-comes-to-climate-hypocrisy-canadas-leaders-have-reached-a-new-low" target="_blank">wrote</a> that "it's disturbing in a different way to watch leaders pretend to care — a kind of gaslighting that can reduce you to numb nihilism. Trudeau, for all his charms, doesn't get to have it both ways: if you can't bring yourself to stop a brand-new tar sands mine then you're not a climate leader."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/02/21/42-nobel-laureates-urge-trudeau-act-moral-clarity-and-stop-climate-wrecking-teck" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>. </em><em></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Pipeline Protestors Are Still Blocking Railways in Canada, Paralyzing the Nation's Rail System
21 February
Energy
Protesters holding signs in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en Nation outside the Canadian Consulate in NYC. The Indigenous Peoples Day NYC Committee (IPDNYC), a coalition of 13 Indigenous Peoples and indigenous-led organizations gathered outside the Canadian Consulate and Permanent Mission to the UN to support the Wet'suwet'en Nation in their opposition to a Coastal GasLink pipeline scheduled to enter their traditional territory in British Columbia, Canada. Erik McGregor / LightRocket / Getty Images
Tensions are continuing to rise in Canada over a controversial pipeline project as protesters enter their 12th day blockading railways, demonstrating on streets and highways, and paralyzing the nation's rail system
<p>The arrest of dozens of people, including some Wet'suwet'en Nation leaders, earlier this month for blockading railways in protest of the $4.6 billion TransCanada Coastal GasLink pipeline sparked sympathy protests across the country. The protests bring up longstanding questions over Indigenous land rights in the region, illustrated by the years-long fight by the Wet'suwet'en against the pipeline, which some members of the tribe say is being illegally built on their territory. Two Canadian railways said they would temporarily lay off hundreds of employees as travel and trade stalls, and the crisis represents a major challenge for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. </p><h4>For a deeper dive:</h4><p><a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W61nlLS7JTrscW1VgGBc4Vm-Jd0/*W7dbhHT7lJBR_W1lxKy37Sq4Z60/5/f18dQhb0S66X6_rzZBV1vjlL5v1hxQW4_7-hp1k8SyfW2b-k-41vjtQRW2vwCrt5cSsYXW2fRp8V4wj8wwW1jmjsW6FpFPzW55yhTN6Pt_YPW4FRMDn8N5MhMW4KWpVJ87Tv-sW8Sf_YB6LvC3JW7bSGDk1_HYn6W7tRHxh1w8wDFN2dqT-Mf-RGqW2zfC0F71Qcm4W7XhKw42NwnxKN41fbhLrRKsgN5br6c3hR3vCN1h86BSGFfK3W11GwJ32MdvW6W6rXjys62Thj-VPyMBq5Nyg5HW1XtZfz5jS0q0W8n5TrX7JSsMVW9kxNML606K8LW2mtZYd5qTfqnW4nMy0h2LBzLGW7t8JWJ26J2DvN8w8dmWYHcpmN3FDf-Lq7-rSW3YzwLK3BGC9gVMDwSc1J-mzCW5CKBcJ5BCR_9W1z4F7d1nlkqpW6MVJxL5mNTWVVP0FRJ4cngrpW7S8jXR2BRwbNW7w89G12ybNnrW6Xm8PS7rmrq9W6mgzC92HlWTMW1JwpYc68BR62W6-ZxfS5_zt3rW2W9H1k6JvVVDW4ZD8wN8S4yp1W8JytMQ3R78m1W4x8Mjy7LCsBNW1lqNmS3t97yH111" target="_blank">LA Times</a>, <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W61nlLS7JTrscW1VgGBc4Vm-Jd0/*N79j4ZfQp3wnW6gpm-V96JLDM0/5/f18dQhb0S1Wd2RMFdXTvLhB2_V3RqW2yc7Z07334qsW6__whW3zbTnnW4WWPJl6lb4zJW7glRp0602f59W5CzZQK6fsZDzW8Zf1cD1dzW5YN3nt9KjF0rrsW4vzKkp4CvnsCW7xRs2Z39hw6rW3jgVKg3cMk96VprCXF81-Bb7VFVjJB3TTSdRW4Xp6RM5PzlkyW5Wzfnf3Lt17SW7NYWGJ5gV8Z7W357JBy2YpYFJW7J1r9q1m2YFCN3jjZMHPtfrzN2531WKJ7hc2W1D34bC40H5hzW81-77k6BX5mmW6MQY8X3RD-TmW6LpWdW4f02CKMcYDj2Sqz4tVHPL5F1ZDLgDW38_tmH19trpwW4qt8Bs65kdJcW2_KdxB5YP6zQW2vsQ9c8mHb_VW4hVRRb6wpxMlW8GRlgj3FHVr4W70hF3_2vXMR2W75CYbm97jmMvW71PJYB84cPB3W4j2ltV2dclQBW8KHjGD2b6gv6Vytrt23041k8W45pCZS1MXsCVW5-Mslw5-K933W9jnMxt68pGLwW28Vj9g8Sq8cRW6wGRSN17MZY4N2dJ_TQRH2rQW8xJ4gr7_y2XjW8cSs2F7pVnG2Mm5F5ZGzwdWVRv87d7R4fzVW5vsvdg8XcFzhW55H9-B7PVy8lW4FyvGs8LxM-FW7_wXz35fMkJ9N7RB--tN6bSMf892kzg11" target="_blank">Washington Post</a>, <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W61nlLS7JTrscW1VgGBc4Vm-Jd0/*W4SDwrN87Kv8dN2SHvzcYVCcr0/5/f18dQhb0S1Xm6Xvx7LSp6m1g7dvjN19h5jtzcCyYW83-rlt1fjgMcW1PMkdH8Cd570W7Vnzc11Msv76W4xxNkN6fsS_qW8BvNS61C-CWTW13HhB53QPslpW7mRKDV913MTQW6XFdbW6QZbvSW6JnDMt3ZsydlW5GqZVH7x-sWqW3jVc9k541-9_N1PM_q8_jJZ6N8mw1BmrW239W29RkQz3wpYmWN4JyFcg9_V5YVsTlvz59lNPKW8jb3gH8qYQw0W69Bdkl662vbjN7PWNCJyCFXlV9t8G92g6_mVVMPtKd7-PBq2VCwfhZ4-m94lVvXSvF5h9tNkW6bz4CZ59nJMzW89rrDW7gK-jMVm2yT18BZ2pXN4c1HXMp_JnrW40179K16S5YRW6RHfFt8zgKB5W1MnHzx7CyllBW3xJWkS1Rd5v3VhK3bp77JsdQW74K44R42w3DpW3nTGjY3_w0wwW6jSRl091S2WYV1S8-J9kjZzTW8z7jtK5w2Y4XN14XzmMV_sDnW7z4TN42brkqlW51lDb48RgcVvW6N13Cz8ByJdZW6B000n8V1mFhW88v5X_9lBF0FW1rQTQf66J5FQW7g1sZ84nRy1Qf19sl8t02" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W61nlLS7JTrscW1VgGBc4Vm-Jd0/*W25GF6w2Ll57bW4VVpM33pdDmx0/5/f18dQhb0S66X6XvPVTN12P5fYSwTf0W1gRWCM52lSNjV-r4fv3jXhx-W5rZ36h8Qm6_MW7V_BmR872XJDVj5Xy06Qr1qcW2TWYxG6S-w2rW4JsyPy8DqSRjW5SsXMv8YlQQ_W2WyF2k784YsKW1Vtn981SqFSJW6cgbgZ7p3n6MW2fqRbD7QnYSbN3NGD1M3_Z7lW7VWL8q8ffvwtN1ds3s-DCfSBW3bngmH3y_75jW2_ZJQt1QkJK0W62H0Jq5wyj_GW2wJQLw1mWYFdM12YsnHHKsDW2x5b7G6y1gCLW404H6w23GTC1N9lcZJQH8n1tVCmFy53TmVKhN5NHrgGml30kW61sJB882MJhbW4QZmKW1LDndVW1mpmn06ntDdDW4sllGj4crTN-N37TV5G8vKbdW5zKD533yfmgmW6G4qGm3j4w8YW7-JZjM3jp89lW3w8dKs2LltblW7zkw576PKbK1W6Bpc631GmNyPW86KGMy6yMKJZMswSnCyHt5LW3N_5jL16bbm4W4WRMrk1jkncNW4CdDj3184N9yVTXHGg8kJnzVW7sfgh13bvVW-W6TSvmK58xdMPW1ffQ4Z6rpTcDf4-lKYR04" target="_blank">CBC</a>, <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W61nlLS7JTrscW1VgGBc4Vm-Jd0/*N2YFrXl7dJX1W68njt76Hpc5W0/5/f18dQhb0Sjvm8YHrG2N834vY8HyjJqMRYC34RrT2vN3hHhdQVMsQMVnQ9Qq8--HBkW8-xTw88-y10rW8_h6YV568f8VW557xkq2N312QMLmywpHqGmhW2Rx7tb56kV0rN2MTPSyKng6qW1Wg4bj2gd99PN58jrSK-YypWW7dDxTN7mWsnXW7dzcsS51vDG6W1f928N1x4lQBW6Hq46z4MW8X3W4r1Pm71nq9rhW18dKPT1VJrykW5lX8fq13bD4hW6dkdGD8VCTsYW84h9wn2MbG0XW2QkLxL4RqxZ1N4x_LnC58nrlN1FxdvjL6vr8W8hh_DW8TyHk5W7qHWdQ57D2zLW755Z652MVCmtW4QyswZ1fzdlCW3qwdzr6W1bz9W59ZKNy1D4j7MW4byY1S2KdCNjW8nDXSj38HdJ-W3Cdk0d3wv7SmW6x_qSw7z1PCfW7zNb082SwVJfW1DnMVK960ZMJW2LdjVl8jHW7PW4-3c0F2VK8YMW246bpk87mHLXW8MyC8R3S6TzpW2mtLGx4Pxhj5N3DlwBbVv0nHf33MjNb04" target="_blank">BBC</a>, <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/c/*W61nlLS7JTrscW1VgGBc4Vm-Jd0/*W3_zxZP3D_qfRW9l9mxg4yZ3Mn0/5/f18dQhb0S66X2dYTs8Slkq5nbT4TW1gS0d71tb8r1W600lPz7D5nFDW3Qx91_4gX_LhW7-SLvf62_8V5W5MjS3Q7H18F1N45TVsFycNKPW1zRGTN5TW7JzW8hSNHZ152SLsW18wV8T1jgPPfW1BJ1l_4CdhtmW57QfB_61XMm8W2JjJsT51c-bfW5FVhwT7l6vjkVJLv6C3z_YCsTbC538lmwmQV7ZCgR4JPSkQM7mjK_s85MPW10sMxM2_SRp4W2tR92q5kGNZJW37d-hF9lB5m3N4JXzPggsvjnW2kzzfQ2r2BXXW8gwgt03_WtPPW17MGXx70YftnN5jrjYj3wT6vW6YMt3M71DcXNW5GyDmY3WkLnzN3r8z-RTZFYJW6Q3Yq988QZ8bVKJSSw6zNwTKW9fYnPZ5PXrkcW3fJt5w1MB5SyW6f66Pr2ztdCgW2KCGdm5_r_wlW38TGy31vhXJrW43wSPP52_156N4m9vXzk3j4tN1n4PgKHYTySW21pfYd1DdD72W4fPWP26Sr1SzW51RtMb3v9hrSW5xPZKk5kCG_-W9fR5s85JrQrmW3wnn4X5-2x_9111" target="_blank">WSJ, Michael Taube op-ed</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow 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Justin Trudeau gives a speech following a victory in his Quebec riding of Papineau on Oct. 22. CBC News / YouTube screenshot
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will remain in office after a federal election Monday in which the climate crisis played a larger role than ever before.
<p>Trudeau's Liberal Party did not win a majority of seats in Canada's House of Commons, but it did win enough seats to form a government, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/21/world/canada/elections-canada-results.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage&te=1&nl=morning-briefing&emc=edit_MBE_p_20191022&section=whatElse?campaign_id=51&instance_id=13269&segment_id=18111&user_id=d8eb7cee9d3c5ab39515239b6ec54d19&regi_id=88631294022&section=whatElse" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. According to the most recent live results from <a href="https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/federal/2019/results/" target="_blank">CBC News</a>, Trudeau's Liberals control 157 seats, the opposition Conservative Party controls 121, the Bloc Québécois controls 32, the New Democratic Party (NDP) controls 24, and the Green Party controls three.</p><p>"Thank you, Canada, for putting your trust in our team and for having faith in us to move this country in the right direction," Trudeau tweeted after the election was called. "Regardless of how you cast your vote, our team will work hard for all Canadians."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you, Canada, for putting your trust in our team and for having faith in us to move this country in the right direction. Regardless of how you cast your vote, our team will work hard for all Canadians.</p>— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) <a href="https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1186521106888515585?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Trudeau will not choose permanent coalition partners, but will reach out to smaller parties to pass individual pieces of legislation, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/22/canada-elections-justin-trudeau-wins-narrow-victory-to-form-minority-government" target="_blank">The Guardian explained</a>. This will likely make the left-wing NDP an important ally on issues like health care and climate policy. Ahead of the election, <a href="https://www.pembina.org/" target="_blank">Pembina Institute</a> Director of Policy Isabelle Turcotte <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/canada-election-trudeau-climate-change-2641050332.html?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4" target="_self">told Climate Home News</a> that such a scenario could "see the potential for some pretty big moves on climate."</p><p>Immediately after the election, <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/" target="_blank">Greenpeace Canada</a> moved to activate that potential by <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/act/spam-your-pm-for-climate/" target="_blank">asking Canadians to spam Trudeau</a> by phone, email and social media and demand he announce a "climate emergency response plan" within 48 hours. That <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/story/26498/climate-response-plan/" target="_blank">plan</a> would include zeroing out emissions before 2050, setting interim targets for 2025 and 2030, providing good jobs to all Canadians, ending <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> subsidies and projects like the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trans-mountain-pipeline" target="_self">Trans Mountain Pipeline</a> expansion and putting <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/indigenous-rights" target="_self">indigenous rights</a> before the interests of extractive industries.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JustinTrudeau</a>, congrats on being re-elected Prime Minister. Now let’s get to work! <br><br>We’re in a ⚠️<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClimateEmergency?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ClimateEmergency</a>⚠️and you need to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ActLikeIt?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ActLikeIt</a>! We need an ambitious climate response plan...for yesterday.<br><br>You have 48 hrs to respond: <a href="https://t.co/SaOcLGLctF">https://t.co/SaOcLGLctF</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/elxn43?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#elxn43</a> <a href="https://t.co/jFKRHEDdeY">pic.twitter.com/jFKRHEDdeY</a></p>— Greenpeace Canada (@GreenpeaceCA) <a href="https://twitter.com/GreenpeaceCA/status/1186501330120167426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>During his first term, Trudeau had a mixed record on environmental issues, as The Guardian explained. He instituted a carbon tax, but also <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/canada-kinder-morgan-pipeline-2573283566.html" target="_self">purchased</a> the Trans Mountain Pipeline and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trudeau-approves-trans-mountain-expansion-2638915731.html?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3" target="_self">approved its expansion</a> one day after Canada declared a climate emergency.<br></p><p>However, his pre-election platform upped his climate ambition and called for net zero emissions by 2050, with legally-binding five-year targets along the way. The Conservative Party, on the other hand, wanted to repeal the carbon tax and focus on funding technological solutions with green bonds.</p><p>Climate was a top-three issue for nearly 30 percent of Canadians this election, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6050521/green-party-election-climate-change/" target="_blank">Global News reported</a>. Despite this, the Green Party did not see a major uptick in votes, though it did have its best election yet.</p><p>University of British Columbia political science professor Kathryn Harrison said this was probably because the Liberal Party and the NDP also campaigned on climate.</p><p>"I think in part they stole the Greens' thunder," Harrison told Global News.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"What we thought was 1-in-100-year floods are now happening every 5 years, in this case, every 2 years." <a href="https://t.co/zPJQ6ZfzeI">https://t.co/zPJQ6ZfzeI</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ActOnClimate?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ActOnClimate</a></p>— Enviro Voter Project (@Enviro_Voter) <a href="https://twitter.com/Enviro_Voter/status/1123250225232187392?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Justin Trudeau delivers remarks during an election rally in Markham, Ontario, Canada, on Sept. 15. Creative Touch Imaging Ltd. / NurPhoto via Getty Images
By Chloe Farand for Climate Home News
Canadians are voting on Monday in an election observers say will define the country's climate future.
<p>Climate policy has played a bigger role than ever before in the lead-up to a federal election. Against a backdrop of mass demonstrations for climate action, all major parties have been keen to reaffirm their commitment to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a>.</p><p>Hit by a racism scandal in which he was exposed for wearing blackface on at least three occasions, prime minister Justin Trudeau has pivoted to environmental issues.</p><p>The question in front of voters is how and how fast should their government decarbonize the country's economy?</p><p>Canada has committed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 but it is not on track to meet its goal.</p><p>At the heart of the debate is Canada's carbon tax. Introduced in 2016 by Trudeau's Liberal government.</p><p>During his campaign for re-election, Trudeau has been pressured by the main opposition Conservatives to scrap the tax and accused on the left of failing to have put the country on course to meet its 2030 target. Trudeau has bet his survival on navigating between them.</p>
<h2>When is the election?</h2><p>Monday, 21 October</p><h2>Who's running?</h2><p>Conservative Party: Andrew Scheer</p><p>Liberal Party: Justin Trudeau (current prime minister)</p><p>New Democratic Party: Jagmeet Singh</p><p>Green Party: Elizabeth May</p><p>Bloc Québécois: Yves-François Blanchet</p><p>People's Party of Canada: Maxime Bernier</p>
<h2>What's their climate plan?</h2><h3>Liberals</h3><p>Trudeau has <a href="https://2019.liberal.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/292/2019/09/Forward-A-real-plan-for-the-middle-class.pdf" target="_blank">ramped up his climate ambition for the election</a>, committing to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and establishing legally-binding five-year targets. To achieve the goal, Trudeau is committed to keeping a price on carbon and hopes to exceed the 2030 target but stopped short of increasing it.</p><p>Other measures include planting two billion trees over the next 10 years, interest-free loans to help owners retrofit their homes and improve energy efficiency, expanding incentives for zero-emissions vehicles and halving taxes for businesses developing clean technologies.</p><p>Trudeau has been accused of "<a href="https://theconversation.com/cognitive-dissonance-canada-declares-a-national-climate-emergency-and-approves-a-pipeline-119151" target="_blank">dissonance</a>" over his climate record for giving the green light to the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline a day after declaring a climate emergency in Canada.</p><h3>Conservatives</h3><p>Scheer has accused the carbon tax of hitting families and small businesses hardest while letting big polluters off the hook. Instead, the Conservative candidate said he would "<a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewScheer/status/1160973192191774720" target="_blank">fight climate change with technology, not taxes</a>," financed with green bonds.</p><p>The Conservatives have promised to repeal the carbon tax and the clean fuel standard. The existing mechanism by which heavy emitters pay a carbon price for output emissions above their allowance would also be scrapped. Instead, industrial facilities emitting above the allowance will have to fund research and development in green technology.</p><p>Scheer also plans to export Canadian technology and liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries such as China to help them transition away from coal. <a href="https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/august-2019/emissions-will-rise-under-conservative-climate-plan/" target="_blank">Analysis</a> has found the Conservative plan would see emissions rising until 2030, reversing the current trend.</p><h3>New Democratic Party</h3><p>The left-wing NDP promised to <a href="https://www.ndp.ca/climate-and-jobs?source=NDPCA_VISION2019" target="_blank">align their policies with limiting global temperatures to 1.5°C</a> by achieving net zero emissions by 2050.</p><p>An NDP government would establish a climate accountability office to audit progress towards the country's climate goals, ban all-single use plastics by 2022, end oil and gas subsidies, make all Canada's electricity carbon-free by 2030 and move towards electric and free public transport.</p><h3>Green Party</h3><p>The Green Party's manifesto puts climate action at the heart of <a href="https://www.greenparty.ca/sites/default/files/platform_2019_web_update_oct_6.pdf" target="_blank">its vision for society</a>. It promised to cut emissions by 60 percent by 2030 with interim five-year target, achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, ban all extraction of new hydrocarbon while phasing out existing operations and achieve 100% <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" rel="noopener noreferrer">renewable</a> electricity by 2030. Both the NDP and the Greens would maintain a carbon pricing mechanism and oppose the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline.</p><h3>Bloc Québécois</h3><p>The French-language separatist party has <a href="https://www.blocquebecois.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Plateforme_Bloc2019_web-1.pdf" target="_blank">a climate plan</a> aligned with Québec's provincial plan. It backs policies in line with the tougher 1.5°C goal of the Paris agreement, including an end to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" rel="noopener noreferrer">fossil fuel</a> subsidies, a reform of fiscal policy in favor of green finance and a carbon tax.</p><h3>People's Party of Canada</h3><p>The newly-created far-right party <a href="https://www.peoplespartyofcanada.ca/platform" target="_blank">denies the scientific consensus on climate change</a> and pledged to boost Canada's oil and gas industries.</p>
<h2>What do the polls say?</h2><p>The Conservatives and the Liberals are neck-and-neck with less than a point between them, according to <a href="https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/elections/poll-tracker/canada/" target="_blank">some estimates</a>.</p><p>The NDP are trailing with around 17 percent and the Greens hover under the 10 percent mark.</p><p>With less than 33 percent of national support, neither the Conservatives nor the Liberals are likely to form a majority government. Instead, one of the two major parties could form a minority government, relying on cross-party support and agreements to pass legislation.</p>
<h2>What does that mean for climate action in Canada?<br></h2><p>The election is "a deciding factor in the next decade of Canada's climate action," Cat Abreu, executive director at Climate Action Network Canada told Climate Home News.</p><p>A majority Conservative government would see "the dismantling of key sections of Canada's climate plan," including the carbon pricing system, said Isabelle Turcotte, director of policy at the clean energy think thank Pembina Institute. But without a majority, a Conservative government would likely have to "soften" its stance to broker deals with other parties, Abreu said.</p><p>In the case of a minority Liberal government, propped up by progressive parties, "we might see the potential for some pretty big moves on climate," she added. Turcotte told CHN a minority Liberal government could hold the Trudeau administration accountable for its pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.</p><p>"It's great that we have been able to talk about climate change in this election but there has been a poor quality of debate. We are not seeing the level of debate that will allow us to see pathways for what a[n energy] transition looks like," Turcotte added.</p><p>Ross Mckitrick, professor specialised in environmental economics at the University of Guelph, Ontario, told CHN the election exposed the "contradictions" of Canada's climate policy debate.</p><p>"Climate policy is popular enough that every party is on board with it but specific policy measures are very unpopular. It's still the case that people [in Canada] have an aversion to very expensive climate policies," he said.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jerry Brown and Justin Trudeau: Climate Advocates, or Hypocrites? <a href="https://t.co/zLztvtVf9V">https://t.co/zLztvtVf9V</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ProtectWinters?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ProtectWinters</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateCentral?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ClimateCentral</a></p>— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/985272759004647424?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmog.co.uk/2019/10/21/here-s-all-you-need-know-about-canada-s-climate-election" target="_blank">DeSmog UK</a>.</em></p>Related Articles Around the Web
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Trudeau Government Approves Trans Mountain Expansion a Day After Canada Declares Climate Emergency
19 June 2019
Politics
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivering remarks to supporters at a Liberal Climate Action Rally in Toronto, Ontario on March 4. Arindam Shivaani / NurPhoto / Getty Images
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that his government would once again approve the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline, which would triple the amount of oil transported from Alberta's tar sands to the coast of British Columbia (BC).
<p>The decision comes a day after Canada's House of Commons passed a non-binding resolution declaring a climate emergency, as <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/climate-emergency-motion-1.5179802" target="_blank">CBC News reported</a>. The timing prompted environmental activists to charge the Trudeau government with hypocrisy, since the House motion was proposed by the government. </p>
<p>"This is like declaring war on cancer and then announcing a campaign to promote smoking," <a href="https://www.ran.org/" target="_blank">Rainforest Action Network</a> energy program director Patrick McCully told <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tasker-trans-mountain-trudeau-cabinet-decision-1.5180269?fbclid=IwAR3hsidEg-eMgBglOqvLOqy4AGFnSPa2ROIrfrrSNq7ZPLhTCjoq1E8tZ4g" target="_blank">CBC News</a>.</p>
<div id="be6fb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="SKYUKN1576662955"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1141087666278154241" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Statement from the Rainforest Action Network @RAN:
“What stunning hypocrisy for Prime Minister Trudeau to approve… https://t.co/axddSfbL5K</div> — Trevor Robb (@Trevor Robb)<a href="https://twitter.com/TrevorRobb_/statuses/1141087666278154241">1560891474.0</a></blockquote></div><p>Trudeau's cabinet followed the ruling of the National Energy Board that the pipeline could harm the environment and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/marine-life" target="_self">marine life</a>, but could create thousands of jobs and earn the federal government tens of billions of dollars. Trudeau pledged to invest all of that revenue in developing <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewable energy</a>.</p><p>"We need to create wealth today so we can invest in the future. We need resources to invest in Canadians so they can take advantage of the opportunities generated by a rapidly changing economy, here at home and around the world," Trudeau said.</p>
<div id="61cdf" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4JHL591576662955"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1141110920149647360" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">It’s in Canada’s national interest to protect our environment and invest in tomorrow, while making sure people can… https://t.co/P9epx5xxfm</div> — Justin Trudeau (@Justin Trudeau)<a href="https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/statuses/1141110920149647360">1560897018.0</a></blockquote></div><p>However, pipeline opponents argued that the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change" target="_self">climate crisis</a> was too urgent for the government to be investing in more <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> infrastructure. The <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/" target="_blank">Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change</a> (IPCC) concluded in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-ipcc-report-2610866229.html" target="_self">October of last year</a> that greenhouse gas emissions must fall to 45 percent of 2010 levels by 2030 in order to limit global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.</p><p>"The federal government has signed off on as much as an additional 15 million tonnes (approximately 16.5 million U.S. tons) of carbon. This is irresponsible at a time when Canada is drifting further away from meeting our Paris climate commitment, and inconsistent with the climate emergency that was declared only yesterday," <a href="https://environmentaldefence.ca/" target="_blank">Environmental Defence</a> Executive Director Tim Gray told CBC News.</p><p>A senior government official <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-canada-energy-pipeline/canada-approves-contentious-oil-pipeline-expansion-expects-legal-challenges-idUSKCN1TJ24M" target="_blank">told Reuters</a> anonymously that the government expected legal challenges to the decision.</p><p>The government's 2016 approval of the project was <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trans-mountain-pipeline-canada-2600441320.html" target="_self">blocked by a court decision</a> in August 2018 ruling that it had failed to take into account the environmental costs of increased tanker traffic and had not adequately consulted with indigenous groups concerned about the project.</p><p>Trudeau's government, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/canada-kinder-morgan-pipeline-2573283566.html" target="_self">which bought the pipeline from Kinder Morgan</a> in May of 2018, sent 60 consultants to meet again with indigenous communities along the pipeline's route, CBC News reported. Trudeau promised additional "accommodation measures" such as embracing an initiative to reduce the impact of tanker traffic on the endangered <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/southern-resident-orca-born-2638660853.html" target="_self">southern resident killer whales</a> that live in the waters off BC.</p><p>However, the Squamish Nation told <a href="https://www.squamishchief.com/news/local-news/tmx-approval-based-on-shallow-consultation-squamish-nation-1.23860076" target="_blank">The Squamish Chief</a> that the government's consultation had been "shallow."</p><p>"The failure to meaningfully engage with rights holders means this government is either not serious about building this pipeline or not serious about respecting Indigenous rights," nation spokesperson Khelsilem said.</p><p>Chief Leah George-Wilson of the Vancouver-area Tsleil-Waututh First Nation told CBC News that her community had decided to appeal the approval, and a group of BC indigenous activists called the <a href="http://tinyhousewarriors.com/" target="_blank">Tiny House Warriors</a> promised to continue fighting the project.</p><p>"The Trudeau government does not have the right to put a pipeline through unceded Secwepemc land," spokeswoman Kanahus Manuel said in a statement reported by Reuters.</p>
<div id="b3a91" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="FT2YLX1576662955"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1141147893040066560" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Response to @JustinTrudeau re: #Transmountain https://t.co/n4aI6w9C7I</div> — Kanahus Manuel (@Kanahus Manuel)<a href="https://twitter.com/KanahusFreedom/statuses/1141147893040066560">1560905833.0</a></blockquote></div><p>However, other indigenous groups are interested in investing in the project.<br></p><p>Trudeau said construction would restart this year. If that proves to be the case, the pipeline would be operational by 2022, investment bank Tudor Pickering Holt & Co told Reuters. The expansion would enable the pipeline to move 890,000 barrels of oil per day.</p>
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A display on single-use plastic pollution at the Vancouver, British Columbia Aquarium on June 22, 2018. Steven Lee / Flickr
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will announce a plan to ban single-use plastics by 2021 at a press conference in Montreal Monday, the Associated Press reports.
<p>An announcement on specific prohibited items will wait until the government surveys a science-based review, but plastic straws, cotton swabs, drink stirrers, plates, cutlery and balloon sticks are just some of the single-use plastics that will be banned, according to an official government source who spoke to the <a href="https://apnews.com/53b9f1cfe0564d1ebc84df2738a9c1db" target="_blank">CBC</a>.</p><p>The official said the government will establish achievable targets and metrics to work with the private sector for a gradual reduction in plastic pollution over the next few years, Canada's <a href="https://www.capebretonpost.com/news/canada/trudeau-to-announce-ban-on-single-use-plastics-monday-320359/" target="_blank">National Post</a> reported.</p><p>The full list of banned products will mirror the comprehensive list of banned products the European Union agreed to in March, which included oxo-degradable plastic and polystyrene fast food containers, which are similar to white styrofoam, the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/government-to-ban-single-use-plastics-by-2021-1.5168386?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar" target="_blank">CBC</a> reports.</p><p>The EU's aggressive move to curb plastic usage not only placed a ban on single-use items, but also took aim at plastic producers, holding them responsible for the cost of waste management and clean up. The member states will have to clean up 90 percent of plastic bottles by 2025. Items like balloons and sanitary wipes will have clear labeling instructing the user on how to dispose it, according to <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/eu-reaches-agreement-on-single-use-plastic-ban/a-46797494" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</p>
<p>The Trudeau government is no stranger to partnering with EU members states on matters of environmental stewardship. Last year, his government created the Ocean Plastics Charter at the G7 summit in Quebec. The European Union and 63 companies immediately signed on, agreeing to find ways to reduce <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oceans">marine</a> plastics litter, the <a href="https://www.capebretonpost.com/news/canada/trudeau-to-announce-ban-on-single-use-plastics-monday-320359/" target="_blank">National Post</a> reported.</p><p>The issue of plastic waste has recently been a scourge for Canada and a public relations nightmare. Early this year, a report by the consulting firms Deloitte and ChemInfo Services commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada found that only nine percent of Canada's plastic waste is recycled and 87 percent ended up in landfills, the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/government-to-ban-single-use-plastics-by-2021-1.5168386?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar" target="_blank">CBC</a> reported. Environment and Climate Change Canada also found that Canadians throw away more than 34 million plastic bags everyday.</p><p>Additionally, since China stopped accepting plastic waste last May, Canada has been at a loss for where to send their plastic waste. Last month, the Philippines pulled its ambassadors out of Ottawa and shipped back to Canada 69 containers of plastics mixed with rotting garbage, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/53b9f1cfe0564d1ebc84df2738a9c1db" target="_blank">AP</a>.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTU4ODA2My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NTM1OTI0Mn0._5E6e4WJ6GEERvnqbBeBYMJo1-ShrtgQS2AJ1nwa_0k/img.jpg?width=980" id="ba7d9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="15e2e484e28bb2226858eef022f301dd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Environmental activists, belonging to the waste and pollution watch group EcoWaste coalition, protest outside the Canadian embassy in Manila on May 21 to push the Canadian government to speed up removal of their garbage out of Manila and Subic Ports.
MARIA SALVADOR TAN / AFP / Getty Images
<p>While some municipalities in British Columbia, New Brunswick, and Quebec, including Montreal, have banned plastic straws and bags, there has been an outcry for a comprehensive and consistent national strategy from environmental experts, according to the <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/government-to-ban-single-use-plastics-by-2021-1.5168386?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar" target="_blank">CBC</a>.</p><p>In addition to Trudeau's announcement in Montreal, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna and Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson will be in Toronto and Vancouver, respectively, discussing the same initiative, the <a href="https://www.capebretonpost.com/news/canada/trudeau-to-announce-ban-on-single-use-plastics-monday-320359/" target="_blank">National Post</a> reports.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">BOOM! Vancouver Bans Plastic Straws, Foam Cups and Containers.<a href="https://t.co/U333rNiyN7">https://t.co/U333rNiyN7</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PlasticPollution?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PlasticPollution</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StopSucking?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StopSucking</a></p>— Enviro Voter Project (@Enviro_Voter) <a href="https://twitter.com/Enviro_Voter/status/997558226391584769?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 18, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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By Andy Rowell
If Justin Trudeau didn't know before, he does now. If Canada's prime minister could blame ignorance before, he can't now.
Every day brings reports of new deaths and disasters as the intense heat wave which has gripped much of the Northern Hemisphere continues.
<p>The numbers do not lie. Some fifty dead in Greece, at least 44 dead in Japan, at least 70 dead in Canada. Sweden alight. Numerous other parts of the world are scorching, too.</p><p>Let's start with <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/greece-forest-fires-at-least-four-dead-as-country-declares-state-of-emergency-and-seeks-a3894556.html" target="_blank">Greece</a>. Many people awoke this morning to the distressing news that at least 50 people have been killed, including a six-month old baby and many children, with dozens more injured and hundreds rescued as devastating <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/wildfires-erupt-in-greece-2589562645.html">wildfires</a> swept through a small resort near Athens. The authorities have called a state of emergency, and has asked for international help.</p><p>Twenty-six people had reportedly died huddled together close to a beach in a town called Mati. Nikos Economopoulos, head of Greece's Red Cross, told the country's Skai TV, "They had tried to find an escape route but unfortunately these people and their kids didn't make it in time."</p><p>One Mati resident, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2018/07/23/europe/athens-wildfires-intl/index.html" target="_blank">Kostas Laganos</a>, said that he escaped by diving into the sea: "Thankfully the sea was there and we went into the sea, because the flames were chasing us all the way to the water, it burned our backs and we dove into the water."</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/23/greeks-urged-to-leave-homes-as-wildfires-spread-near-athens" target="_blank">Greek</a> authorities urged residents at the coast west of Athens to abandon their homes as the tinder dry conditions continued, with temperatures over 40°C (104°F).</p><p>Greece is not alone. Yesterday I blogged on the heatwave in <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2018/07/23/as-japan-begins-olympic-countdown-it-swelters-in-41-1-degrees-heat/" target="_blank">Japan</a>. Today, the country's weather agency has declared <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-44935152" target="_blank">the heatwave</a> a natural disaster, saying that at least 65 deaths had been recorded in the past week. Experts believe there will be many more.</p><p>Meanwhile <a href="https://www.thelocal.se/20180723/sweden-heatwave-hottest-july-in-at-least-260-years" target="_blank">in Sweden</a>, where the country is experiencing the hottest July for 260 years, the country has asked for international help to put out <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/the-arctic-is-burning-2587826571.html">wildfires in the Arctic</a>.</p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-44779367" target="_blank">In Canada</a>, the hot weather has reportedly caused the deaths of at least 70 people in Quebec alone. Earlier this month, in Ottawa, in Ontario, the humidity index—the method used there to measure the combined humidity level and temperature—hit 47°C (116.6°F) on July 2.</p><p>But the hot temperatures are back. Early this morning, the Canadian government issued another heat warning for the Montreal area, advising people that the so-called humidex values are expected to reach the high thirties.</p><p>"Heat warnings are issued when very high temperature or humidity conditions are expected to pose an elevated risk of heat illnesses, such as heat stroke or heat exhaustion," <a href="https://weather.gc.ca/warnings/report_e.html?qc67" target="_blank">it said</a>.</p><p>Parts of Canada too are alight. <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-wildfires-expected-to-intensify-this-week-in-both-bc-and-ontario/" target="_blank">As of last weekend</a>, there were more than one hundred fires burning in British Columbia, and a further 118 burning in Ontario, with 29 of them considered "out of control."</p><p>Finally, some in the media are waking up. One BBC journalist tweeted: "Climate change. It's here. It's catastrophic. This month alone: — '50 dead' in Greece wildfires — Arctic Circle ablaze — Japan heatwave, flooding and landslides kill hundreds — Record temperatures in Algeria, Morocco, Oman — Drought squeezes US lemons."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="466bd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="KPTVCB1576662441"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1021652233543331841" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Climate change. It's here. It's catastrophic.
This month alone:
— '50 dead' in Greece wildfires
— Arctic Circle a… https://t.co/mEQ5iMMupj</div> — James Cook (@James Cook)<a href="https://twitter.com/BBCJamesCook/statuses/1021652233543331841">1532415848.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>But not, it seems, Justin Trudeau, who is asleep in the heat. All he has to do is switch on the news to see what is happening. As people die across the globe, his government was searching for a buyer for the controversial Trans Mountain pipeline, which will triple the amount of dirty <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/tar-sands">tar sands</a> exported from Alberta to Vancouver to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/trans-mountain-pipeline-ownership-1.4757351" target="_blank">890,000</a> barrels a day.<br></p><p>The pipeline has become the most toxic political issue in Canada. It is vehemently opposed by the government of British Columbia and by a coalition of First Nations, community and environmental groups.</p><p>Despite all the warnings about the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate</a> impact of the pipeline, Trudeau's government offered to buy it from Kinder Morgan after the company froze investment, to keep construction continuing. They had hoped to sell the pipeline quickly to a new buyer.</p><p>But that has not happened and no buyer could be found before the deadline, which was on Sunday. So Trudeau's government has no option now but to be the full-time owner of the tar sands pipeline.</p><p>As the <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2018/07/22/trans-mountain-pipeline-deadline-passes-ottawa-fails-to-find-new-buyer.html" target="_blank">Canadian Star</a> stated: "But with that date set to pass without a deal, it was expected the pipeline company will now take Ottawa's $4.5-billion offer to purchase the project to its shareholders."</p><p>On Saturday, the day before the deadline, protesters amassed in Parliament Hill wearing hazardous-materials suits and carrying a fake pipeline. One of the protesters, Aaron Thornell, said, "I think that this investment sets us down a completely wrong and long path that will not lead to the [clean energy] transition. Another, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/trans-mountain-pipeline-kinder-morgan-deal-deadline-federal-liberal-government-justin-trudeau-canada-1.4756653" target="_blank">Pat Taylor</a>, added, "It's just crazy. And you know, I have a son. I think about my grandchildren to come and it just breaks my heart."</p><p>The formal sale now looks likely to be approved next month, or in September. It is undoubtable that more people will die from the global heatwave in the meantime. But that won't worry Trudeau who is on holiday. Ironically, in British Columbia.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="260d9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="T6PZQ91576662441"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="999832538041417728" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">236 Civil Society Groups to Justin Trudeau: 'The Time for Investment in New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure Is Over'… https://t.co/MYATeBUbyc</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/999832538041417728">1527213627.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2018/07/24/as-more-die-in-the-global-heatwave-canada-invests-in-climate-disaster/" target="_blank">Oil Change International</a>.</em><br></p>
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Kinder Morgan Pipeline Leak Two Days Before Trudeau Buyout Was 48 Times Larger Than First Reported
11 June 2018
Energy
The Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain Pipeline Darfield Pumping Station. Google
By Jake Johnson
Just two days before Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that his government would purchase Kinder Morgan's faltering and widely opposed Trans Mountain pipeline, British Columbia's Ministry of Environment said 100 liters of crude oil had leaked at a Kinder Morgan pipeline pump station north of Kamloops—but the company initially refused to confirm the severity of the spill.
<p>On Saturday, with its bailout from the Canadian taxpayer confirmed by Trudeau, Kinder Morgan declared after an <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4699763" target="_blank">investigation</a> that, actually, 4,800 liters of crude oil had leaked during the May 27 spill—48 times more crude than first reported.</p><p>While the Ministry of Environment said no waterways were affected by the leak, environmentalists and Canadian members of parliament highlighted the leak as a telling example of the dangers <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines">pipelines</a> pose to people and the environment and continued denouncing Trudeau's buyout.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="bbd2e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="FXCLQO1576662964"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1005632749976162306" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Kinder Morgan initially reported that 100 litres was spilled - but it was actually 4800 litres. With accuracy like… https://t.co/ikOECGX3kU</div> — Don Davies MP (@Don Davies MP)<a href="https://twitter.com/DonDavies/statuses/1005632749976162306">1528596506.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p><br></p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="bf82a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="557YPO1576662964"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1005620320844144640" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">When this Kinder Morgan spill first happened I posted it and a flood of angry messages poured in telling me what an… https://t.co/XaAAlnDnWt</div> — Nathan Cullen (@Nathan Cullen)<a href="https://twitter.com/nathancullen/statuses/1005620320844144640">1528593542.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p><br></p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="d1a5d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="E8OYGK1576662964"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1005630527829757952" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Remember that 100 litre spill on the existing Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline days before Trudeau announced p… https://t.co/pWXYoCUeEz</div> — Treaty Alliance (@Treaty Alliance)<a href="https://twitter.com/Treaty_Alliance/statuses/1005630527829757952">1528595976.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p><br></p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="8458b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="HJZE0E1576662964"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1005632738341163010" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Anyone Surprised?
#StopKM #KinderMorgan #StopKMbuyout #cdnpoli #bcpoli https://t.co/hSR4s6iNYh</div> — Eric Doherty (@Eric Doherty)<a href="https://twitter.com/Eric_Doherty/statuses/1005632738341163010">1528596503.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p>Since its inception, Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain expansion project has faced fierce and widespread grassroots opposition across Canada as well as legal challenges that have brought the projection's completion into question.<br></p><p>As Common Dreams <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/05/29/immense-moral-cowardice-trudeau-trashed-government-purchase-climate-killing-kinder" target="_blank">reported</a>, Trudeau announced late last month that his government would buy the Trans Mountain pipeline for $4.5 billion, a move environmentalists and Indigenous leaders denounced as an act of "immense moral cowardice" that betrayed the prime minister's rhetorical commitments to bold <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate</a> action.</p><p>Trudeau's decision has since sparked opposition rallies nationwide, with green groups arguing that the billions of taxpayer money being used to rescue a leak-prone, "climate-destroying" pipeline should be spent on healthcare, education, and a just transition to a sustainable energy system.</p><p>"This could cost $15 to $20 billion all told," Andrea Harden-Donahue, energy and climate justice campaigner at Council of Canadians, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/06/04/lets-not-subsidize-our-own-extinction-rallies-across-canada-denounce-trudeaus-kinder" target="_blank">said</a> at a demonstration outside of the Ottawa office of Liberal MP Catherine McKenna last week. "That is money that could solve the drinking water crisis in Canada on First Nations reserves. That is money that could halve tuition fees across the country. Think about the affordable housing that we could achieve with that money ... That is where this money should be going."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="19ef6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="MYFYGY1576662964"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1004923861882765313" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">"This is truly a best-in-class pipeline and we look forward to many years of safe, reliable, and efficient operatio… https://t.co/1QN0sCptvJ</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1004923861882765313">1528427493.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/06/10/anyone-surprised-kinder-morgan-pipeline-leak-two-days-trudeau-buyout-was-48-times" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><br></p>
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- Pipeline Spills 76,000 Gallons of Crude Oil Emulsion in Northern ... ›
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Canada Risks Billions in a 'Carbon Bubble' as Kinder Morgan Execs Get Big Bonuses
05 June 2018
Energy
Oil sands, Fort McMurray, Alberta on Nov. 11, 2010. eryn.rickard / CC BY 2.0
By Andy Rowell
Days after Justin Trudeau blew an estimated $15 billion of hard-earned Canadian taxpayer money on Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain pipeline, scientists are warning just how financially and ecologically stupid and short-sighted the investment was.
In a peer reviewed scientific paper published Monday, the scientists warn of the existence of a "carbon bubble," due to the plunging price of renewables and improved energy efficiency measures, which will make many fossil fuel projects "stranded assets."
<p>The abstract in the prestigious journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-018-0182-1" target="_blank"><em>Nature</em></a> could make Trudeau choke on his morning coffee: "Several major economies rely heavily on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel</a> production and exports, yet current low-carbon technology diffusion, energy efficiency and climate policy may be substantially reducing global demand for fossil fuels."</p><p>It continues: "This trend is inconsistent with observed investment in new fossil fuel ventures, which could become stranded as a result."</p><p>Crucially, the scientists argue that many fossil fuel projects will become stranded due to changing market conditions, especially with the cost of renewables rapidly decreasing.</p><p>But this economic loss of "stranded fossil fuel assets" will be exemplified if "new climate policies to reach the 2°C target of the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris Agreement</a> are adopted and/or if low-cost producers (some OPEC countries) maintain their level of production ('sell out') despite declining demand."</p><p>If this happens there will be winners and losers, with "winners (for example, net importers such as China or the EU) and losers (for example, Russia, the United States or Canada, which could see their fossil fuel industries nearly shut down)."</p><p>So Canada will be a net loser. And the reason will be the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/tar-sands">tar sands</a>. And if the tar sands are "shut down," Kinder Morgan is a <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines">pipeline</a> to nowhere.</p><p>Professor Jorge Viñuales, co-author, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jun/04/carbon-bubble-could-spark-global-financial-crisis-study-warns" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>: "Contrary to investor expectations, the stranding of fossil fuel assets may happen even without new <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate</a> policies. Individual nations cannot avoid the situation by ignoring the Paris agreement or burying their heads in coal and tar sands."</p><p>Dr. Jean-François Mercure, the lead author, from Radboud and Cambridge universities, also told the newspaper: "If people stop putting funds now in fossil fuels, they may at least limit their losses."</p><p>Trudeau has just done the opposite. As the prime minister buries his political future in the tar sands, others have criticized last week's bail-out as a clear "subsidy" to the oil industry, which goes against a G7 pledge to phase out "inefficient" support for polluting sectors by 2025.</p><p>"The decision by the Canadian government to acquire the Trans Mountain pipeline from Kinder Morgan has essentially been taken because, given the risk, no other private investor would step in," argues <a href="http://www.climatechangenews.com/2018/05/31/canada-oil-pipeline-buyout-subsidising-market-failure/" target="_blank">Mark Campanale</a>, the executive director of Carbon Tracker. "It is government subsidizing a market failure."</p><p>But it gets worse: As Trudeau invests in "carbon bubbles" and "market failures," two Kinder Morgan bosses are literally laughing all the way to the bank. <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/kinder-morgan-retention-bonuses-1.4690911" target="_blank">Two senior</a> executives have each been awarded $1.5-million "retention bonuses" in connection with the $4.5 billion sale of the pipeline.</p><p>Opposition MPs were outraged at the news: One, the B.C. New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen, said in the<a href="http://www.timescolonist.com/opposition-criticizes-1-5-million-retention-bonuses-for-kinder-morgan-execs-1.23324181" target="_blank"> House of Commons</a>: "Adding insult to injury to this public bailout, it includes a $3 million bonus to Kinder Morgan executives."</p><p>Canadian economist <a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/06/01/news/kinder-morgan-execs-ian-anderson-and-david-safari-offered-15-million-bonuses-under" target="_blank">Robyn Allan</a>, who has spent the past few years <a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/05/15/opinion/whats-behind-kinder-morgans-may-31-ultimatum-follow-money" target="_blank">analyzing</a> the dodgy finances behind the Trans Mountain project, also criticized the payouts: "It's a large amount of money and it's something that most people are going to be shocked about."</p><p>They are right to be shocked about another example of rewarding <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/big-oil">big oil</a> executives for climate failure.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="e0f1b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3MSN641576662665"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1002117510764924929" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Canada to Buy Controversial Tar Sands Pipeline https://t.co/fVBsX1gtz3 @TarSandsAction @NoTarSands</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1002117510764924929">1527758407.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2018/06/05/as-canada-risks-billions-in-a-carbon-bubble-km-bosses-get-big-bonuses/" target="_blank">Oil Change International</a>.</em><br></p>
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Protesters at Trans Mountain pipeline protest in Burnaby. Break Free / Flickr / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
The Canadian government plans to spend $4.5 billion Canadian dollars ($3.5 billion) to buy Kinder Morgan's existing Trans Mountain pipeline and its controversial expansion project that will triple the amount of tar sands transported from Alberta to the coast of British Columbia.
The pipeline has been at the center of widespread protests by environmentalists and some Indigenous groups. The announcement was met with condemnation from 350.org organizers, who slammed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government for "turning Canada into a fossil fuel company."
<p>
Kinder Morgan
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trans-mountain-pipeline-halted-2558346085.html">halted</a> all non-essential spending the pipeline project last month, citing continuing opposition in British Columbia. The company set a May 31 deadline to get assurances it can proceed with the project without delays.
</p><p>
Bill Morneau, the federal finance minister, said in Ottawa Tuesday that the government's purchase will guarantee the summer construction season for workers and will ensure the project is built to completion.
</p><p>"Our message today is simple—when we're faced with an exceptional situation that puts jobs at risk, that puts our international reputation on the line, our government's prepared to take action," he said.
</p><p>
The agreement was approved by the Cabinet this morning and is subject to approval by Kinder Morgan shareholders. The purchase is expected to close this August, he said.
</p><p>
Morneau said the government will eventually sell the expanded pipeline back to the private sector.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="36f0f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3PDJ331576662766"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1001451345902120960" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: Federal government to buy Trans Mountain pipeline, all of Kinder Morgan Canada's core assets for $4.5 bil… https://t.co/22a3pmuSE9</div> — Globalnews.ca (@Globalnews.ca)<a href="https://twitter.com/globalnews/statuses/1001451345902120960">1527599581.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
Kinder Morgan Canada CEO Steve Kean said he was pleased with the deal.
</p><p>
"The outcome we have reached represents the best opportunity to complete the [Trans Mountain Pipeline system and the expansion project] and thereby realize the great national economic benefits promised by that project," Kean said in a
<a href="https://ir.kindermorgancanadalimited.com/2018-05-29-Trans-Mountain-Pipeline-System-and-Expansion-Project-to-be-Sold-for-C-4-5-Billion" target="_blank">statement</a>.
</p><p>
Aurore Fauret, 350.org's Canadian tar sands campaign coordinator, said in a statement that "in a single mandate, Justin Trudeau transformed from a climate champion into a Big Oil CEO."
</p><p>
Trudeau, Fauret said, "had an opportunity to walk away from pipeline politics and get on with the real work of leading Canada, and the world, in a 100 percent renewable energy revolution, but instead he's opted to ignore science, Indigenous rights and the voices of people across Canada and bailed out a dangerous, unwanted pipeline with public money."
</p><p>
Since taking office, the Liberal party leader has introduced several environmental mandates, including a national price on carbon and a $1.5 billion ocean protection plan. However, environmentalists have criticized Trudeau's support of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. He
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bill-nye-justin-trudeau-pipeline-2544011520.html" target="_blank">insists</a> that "the environment and the economy need to go together."
</p><p>
<span></span><a href="http://priceofoil.org/" target="_blank">Oil Change International</a> pointed out that while Trudeau has signed up to the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_blank">Paris climate goals</a>, the amount of carbon that would be transported and ultimately burned by the pipeline means that Canada would <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/justin-trudeau-fossil-fuels-2571674194.html" target="_blank">miss those goals</a>.
</p><p>
<span></span>What's more, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2018/05/28/trans-mountain-pipeline-spills-crude-at-bc-pump-station-days-before-companys-deadline.html" target="_blank">The Star Vancouver</a> reported that Kinder Morgan has reported 82 spills to the National Energy Board since 1961. The most recent spill occurred this past Sunday, when 100 liters (26 gallons) of a medium crude blend was released at the Darfield Pump Station near Barriere, British Columbia.
</p><p>
Opponents said the latest leak highlights the risks of the project. "We know spills happen and we know that it won't get 100 percent cleaned up," Charlene Aleck, a Tsleil-Waututh Nation councillor, told The Star, adding that the spill gave her a "sinking feeling" and "it reinforces the risk that Tsleil-Waututh has been speaking of all along."
</p><p>
350.org vows to continue protesting the project.
</p><p>
"Today is not the end of this story. Kinder Morgan abandoned this project because people organized all across the country to stop it, and we'll do it again," Fauret said. "This fight is far from over, and now that Justin Trudeau has turned the Canadian government into a fossil fuel company, it's crystal clear who we're up against."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="260d9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="FE1NGZ1576662766"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="999832538041417728" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">236 Civil Society Groups to Justin Trudeau: 'The Time for Investment in New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure Is Over'… https://t.co/MYATeBUbyc</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/999832538041417728">1527213627.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
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236 Civil Society Groups to Justin Trudeau: 'The Time for Investment in New Fossil Fuel Infrastructure Is Over'
24 May 2018
Energy
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at World Bank Group headquarters during Trudeau's first official visit to Washington, DC in March 2016. Franz Mahr / World Bank / CC BY 2.0
By Andy Rowell
With just over a week to go until the May 31 deadline set by Kinder Morgan for the Canadian Government to resolve all financial and political issues surrounding its highly controversial Trans Mountain pipeline, some 236 civil society groups from 44 countries have written to Justin Trudeau to tell him to drop his support for the project.
Kinder Morgan's Trans Mountain Pipeline will triple the amount of dirty tar sands being shipped from Alberta to the coast of British Columbia.
<p>The <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines">pipeline</a> has become the most toxic Canadian political issue of the day, with Trudeau's government saying they will underwrite losses incurred by Kinder Morgan in their desperation to see the dirty pipeline be built.</p><p>Since that announcement for financial support on <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/morneau-kinder-morgan-pipeline-announement-1.4665009" target="_blank">May 16</a>, there has been growing national and international hostility to the plan.</p><p>Just in the last 24 hours, for example, award-winning Canadian journalist <a href="https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2018/05/23/Canadian-Taxpayers-Hostage-Kinder-Morgan/" target="_blank">Andrew Nikiforuk</a> said that Trudeau was being held "hostage" by Kinder Morgan. "The Trudeau federal government has made itself a pathetic hostage to a Texas-based pipeline company known for its cheapness and debt," he wrote Wednesday.</p><p>Also <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/youth-walk-out-of-class-to-protest-trans-mountain-pipeline-1.4675166" target="_blank">on Wednesday</a>, some 200 youths from a number of Vancouver schools walked out of class to protest the government's support for the pipeline. "This is a chance to show our elected leaders and Kinder Morgan that our lands, livelihoods and future are more important than a pipeline," said Ta'Kaiya Blaney from Vancouver. And finally on Wednesday, protesters unveiled banners at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC, saying, "<a href="https://www.facebook.com/priceofoil/?hc_ref=ARRAtMgjrw6cu8RZV720sKxEtqAKeMFsjKQqs1dej42Sf0eQ8LqK0tD-3KGS_-oJMX4&fref=nf" target="_blank">Canadian Leaders Don't Build Pipelines</a>."</p><p>And that banner refers to a simple climate circle that Trudeau can't square, however much he tries to spin it otherwise: Trudeau has signed up to the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris climate goals</a>, but the amount of carbon that would be transported and ultimately burnt by the Trans Mountain Pipeline means that Canada would miss those goals.</p><p>As the letter outlines: "Canada has been a vocal champion of the Paris Agreement and ambitious climate action, and under your leadership, Canada has finally signed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples."</p><p>It continues: "However, your unwavering support for the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion runs counter to both of these commitments and undermines Canada's role as a global leader."</p><p>"Climate leaders cannot expand or finance major fossil fuel expansion, and climate leaders must begin to plan for a managed phase-out and just transition away from all fossil fuel production," says the letter.</p><p>The letter, signed by the likes of Amazon Watch, Asian Peoples' Movement on Debt and Development, Center for International Environmental Law, Christian Aid, The Climate Reality Project, Council of Canadians, Friends of the Earth International, Greenpeace, Hip Hop Caucus, Indigenous Environmental Network, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oil Change International, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, SumOfUs.org, Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, Wilderness Committee, and 350.org, says that financing the pipeline "with public money, as your government has suggested, is particularly offensive in the face of the global climate crisis."</p><p>The letter goes on to say: "As global organizations deeply concerned about the climate, communities, workers, and Indigenous Rights, we stand in solidarity with those who oppose the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline. We also support communities along the proposed pipeline and tanker routes who are standing up to protect the land, the coast, and the ocean from the risks of spills and other damage".</p><p>It points out that Canada should be leading the world in a "managed decline" of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuels</a> and transition to clean energy. "The time for investment in new fossil fuel infrastructure is over," say the signatories, before ending with: "We urge you to reconsider your support for this project, and instead work to make Canada the climate leader that it should be."</p><p>Leila Salazar-López, executive director of Amazon Watch, said, "We stand with our indigenous brothers and sisters in the North in their efforts to protect their territories from the Kinder Morgan Pipeline and other destructive fossil fuel infrastructure. It is past time for governments—including the Canadian government—to respect UNDRIP [United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples] and begin a managed decline of fossil fuel extraction. Our collective futures depend on it."</p><p>May Boeve, executive director of 350.org added, "The Kinder Morgan pipeline threatens to pollute clean air and water, violate the rights of First Nations, and lock us into climate-wrecking fossil fuel extraction. Justin Trudeau has spoken about justice for Indigenous people and addressing climate change, but his actions are miles behind his words. At the end of the day, you cannot be a climate leader while supporting fossil fuel pipelines."</p>
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</p><div id="61929" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="SYWS0O1576662105"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="971457520601616384" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Bill Nye Confronts Justin Trudeau Over Kinder Morgan Pipeline https://t.co/EwCzoBV48n @NRDC @YEARSofLIVING… https://t.co/olSrnqvMu3</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/971457520601616384">1520448496.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2018/05/24/civil-society-to-justin-trudeau-the-time-for-investment-in-new-fossil-fuel-infrastructure-is-over/" target="_blank">Oil Change International</a>.</em><br></p>
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Protest in Burnaby Mountain in BC on April 7. Protect the Inlet / Flickr
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday he is ready to offer financial aid and new legislation to push forward the contentious Trans Mountain Pipeline expansion that will triple production of tar sands going from Alberta to British Columbia.
Houston-based developer Kinder Morgan has threatened to scrap the $7.4 billion (USD $5.9 billion) project unless political and legal opposition is resolved by May 31. The energy giant's move came after fierce opposition from environmental activists and Indigenous groups, as well as escalating tension between the Albertan and British Columbian governments.
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But after a meeting with the premiers of Alberta and British Columbia on Sunday, Trudeau insisted the project will go ahead.
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"The Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is of vital strategic interest to Canada," he said. "It will be built."
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"I have instructed the minister of finance to initiate formal financial discussions with Kinder Morgan, the result of which will be to remove the uncertainty overhanging the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project," Trudeau <a href="https://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN1HM0I0-OCATP" target="_blank">noted</a>.
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</p><div id="d340a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="I2F3BQ1576662965"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="985673343352360965" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Why are major energy projects of vital interest to Canada? Because they’re vital to the people who work hard every… https://t.co/wSSIDJ2BHU</div> — Justin Trudeau (@Justin Trudeau)<a href="https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/statuses/985673343352360965">1523837812.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Trudeau added that he is seeking federal jurisdiction over the pipeline "We are actively pursuing legislative options that will assert and reinforce the government of Canada's jurisdiction in this matter," he said.</p><p>But British Columbia's Horgan said after the meeting he will continue to fight the pipeline expansion due to the threat of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil-spill">oil spills</a> in the province. <br></p><p>
"My obligation is to the people of B.C., and I will defend that until I am no longer premier," Horgan said Sunday.
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However, he said he will back down if the court rules against his government, the <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-trudeau-promises-financial-backing-for-vital-trans-mountain-pipeline/" target="_blank">Globe and Mail</a> reported. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="70460" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="TT8E8J1576662965"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="985625156390273025" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The interests of British Columbians — and all Canadians — should come before those in Texas boardrooms. I will cont… https://t.co/ryapkFxklr</div> — John Horgan (@John Horgan)<a href="https://twitter.com/jjhorgan/statuses/985625156390273025">1523826323.0</a></blockquote></div>
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In a <a href="https://protecttheinlet.ca/media/" target="_blank">statement</a> from the <a href="https://protecttheinlet.ca/" target="_blank">Protect the Inlet</a> initiative, the Indigenous-led group reminds the federal government that Kinder Morgan's project does not have their consent.
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"The Prime Minister is saying they are in negotiations with Kinder Morgan to ensure an end to uncertainty. What he is ignoring is that we are the uncertainty. We will not be bought and we will block this pipeline," Will George, Watch House guardian and project leader, said.
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<a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/home/" target="_blank">Greenpeace Canada</a>'s climate and energy campaigner Mike Hudema also <a href="https://twitter.com/GreenpeaceCA/status/985592593290477568" target="_blank">commented</a>, "If Trudeau believes he can ram this pipeline through, he is misreading both the constitution and the electorate, while underestimating the opposition on the ground." <span></span>
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"Bailing out failing projects, strong-arming Indigenous communities by ignoring their right to consent, and bypassing calls for science-based decision making are ways to create a crisis, not solve one," he said.
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<span></span>Kinder Morgan told <a href="https://ca.reuters.com/article/topNews/idCAKBN1HM0I0-OCATP" target="_blank">Reuters</a> it would not comment on Trudeau's remarks "until we've reached a sufficiently definitive agreement on or before May 31 that satisfies our objectives."
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Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor Jerry Brown at the United Nations Paris agreement signing ceremony dinner. Mike Bloomberg / Flickr
By Andy Rowell
Two leading political figures from the U.S. and Canada, who have boasted about the need to fight climate change, are now under fire for being climate change hypocrites: saying they care about the climate, but allowing drilling and fossil fuel infrastructure to be built anyway.
On Wednesday, more than 750 public interest groups from California and around the world, including Oil Change International, started a campaign urging the governor of California, Jerry Brown, to stop building fossil fuel infrastructure, including no new exploration permits offshore.
<p>The letter told Brown to "take immediate action to protect those most vulnerable to climate change or lose their support for the global climate action summit that he will host five months from now in San Francisco."</p><p>The campaign has sponsored billboards in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Sacramento, placed adverts in local newspapers, and launched a thermal airship over San Francisco Bay to challenge Brown for falling short on plans to limit fossil fuels in the state.</p><p>The letter <a href="http://brownslastchance.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/DearGovernorBrown.pdf" target="_blank">urged Brown,</a> who has stated on numerous times that time is running out to solve climate change and who has stated that fighting the issue will be one of his <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/End-oil-drilling-permits-in-California-groups-12826051.php" target="_blank">signature acts</a>, to "champion a vision for California that looks beyond the oil and gas industry to a future that is safe and healthy for everyone," the letter says.</p><p>It continues by urging Brown to "set a global precedent by becoming the first oil producing state to announce a phase-out of existing production in line with the Paris climate goals, with a just and equitable transition that protects workers, communities, and economies, starting in places that are suffering most from the impacts of fossil fuel extraction."</p><p>But Brown is not the only politician who has promoted their green credentials who is now under fire for failing to adequately act on climate.</p><p>Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is due to fly back from an overseas trip over the weekend to convene a meeting concerning the controversial Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline that will triple production of dirty <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/tar-sands">tar sands</a> going from Alberta to British Columbia.</p><p>The pipeline has been subject to sustained protests and legal action by the local community and BC government, led by John Horgan. Earlier this week, Kinder Morgan announced that it was stopping work until the end of May until political and legal opposition is sorted. Many people now see the pipeline as being on "<a href="http://priceofoil.org/2018/04/10/controversial-kinder-morgan-pipeline-now-on-life-support/" target="_blank">life support</a>."</p><p>Even the <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/business/21740453-it-latest-string-pipeline-flops-could-deter-foreign-investors-kinder-morgans" target="_blank">Economist</a> argues that the pipeline is now likely to become "another flop," and noted that last week David McKay, head of RBC, Canada's largest bank, was concerned that investment was flowing out of the Canadian energy sector "in real time."</p><p>Trudeau continues to support the pipeline. Yesterday he tweeted that "I wouldn't approve major pipeline projects if I wasn't confident they could be done safely. And they can be done safely because we've made a massive investment in protecting our oceans and coastlines—in BC and across the country."</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="63c49" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="KQC2481576662933"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="984403586376335360" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I wouldn’t approve major pipeline projects if I wasn’t confident they could be done safely. And they can be done sa… https://t.co/sIOijV30PJ</div> — Justin Trudeau (@Justin Trudeau)<a href="https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/statuses/984403586376335360">1523535078.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p>The tweet was accompanied by a glossy video, which was posted on Twitter and<a href="https://www.facebook.com/JustinPJTrudeau/videos/10156634611860649/?hc_ref=ARTLuZNXWLvfVdladL4dZvoOcdG4DMAW-5B9N_yve99FOmGaKWL3K5eSKp9xc4tlzsw&fref=nf" target="_blank"> Facebook</a>.</p><p>The reason for the meeting over the weekend, according to press reports, is that Trudeau wants to strong-arm BC Premier "<a href="https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/04/12/news/trudeau-summons-notley-horgan-ottawa-over-kinder-morgan-quebec-groups-enter-debate" target="_blank">John Horgan</a> to reverse his stance." Horgan responded that he was going to "represent BC, our coast and economy."</p><p>Yesterday, <a href="https://dbqvwi2zcv14h.cloudfront.net/images/Re__Letter_urging_the_federal_government_to_stop_supporting_the_Kinder_Morgan_Trans_Mountain_expansion_pipeline_project_-_April_12th_2018.pdf" target="_blank">40 civil society group</a>s sent a letter to Trudeau on behalf of their Quebec members, urging the federal government to "immediately cease supporting Kinder Morgan's pipeline. Do not turn this pipeline into your political legacy."</p><p>The letter continues: </p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">"We remind you in particular of your government's commitment to end fossil fuel subsidies. The Trudeau government, in supporting a 20th-century sector of the economy, is failing to live up to its responsibility.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">The national interest of Canada does not rest in the construction of The Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline, but in the inevitable energy transition that is so urgently needed in order to counter climate change.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">The support that you continue to provide to the pipeline project casts a serious cloud on your credibility as a leader in the fight against climate change.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">We repeat: Do not turn this pipeline into your political legacy."</p>
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</p><div id="61929" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="N3YVEG1576662934"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="971457520601616384" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Bill Nye Confronts Justin Trudeau Over Kinder Morgan Pipeline https://t.co/EwCzoBV48n @NRDC @YEARSofLIVING… https://t.co/olSrnqvMu3</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/971457520601616384">1520448496.0</a></blockquote></div>
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<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2018/04/13/brown-trudeau-in-last-chance-saloon-over-climate-legacy/" target="_blank">Oil Change International</a>.</em></p>
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