Tag Archives: EU

Cost of Climate Change

BC’s Productivity Emergency vs Rising GHG Emissions

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With the rise of global temperatures already at 1.4°C, we are currently on track to reach 2.8°C by the end of this century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) claims, “every additional 0.1°C of global warming causes clearly discernible increases in the intensity and frequency of temperature and precipitation extremes, as well as agricultural and ecological droughts in some regions.” 

Denise Mullen, from the Business Council of BC, recently informed the SRD’s Natural Resources Committee that the province faces a more urgent problem. British Columbia is in the midst of a productivity emergency. 

Continue reading BC’s Productivity Emergency vs Rising GHG Emissions →
Cost of Climate Change

A Message for Luxury Yachts Appears at Cortes Bay

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Three new signs have recently been greeting boaters arriving in Cortes Bay.

They say: 

  • “200 gal/740 l diesel = 2 tons CO2”
  • “<2 tons CO2 per person per year = safe fair share”
  • “luxury emissions wipe out life”
Continue reading A Message for Luxury Yachts Appears at Cortes Bay →
Forests

Burning trees is not a clean energy option: climate advocates

Editor’s note: According to the Strathcona Regional District Engagement Summary Report, “In Electoral Areas A, B (Cortes), and C (primarily Quadra and the Outer Islands), about 50% used wood heat and 40% used electric with the remaining 10% using an alternative.”

By Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

With the annual United Nations climate conference just around the corner, environmental groups are calling for an end to subsidies that support burning forest biomass to generate electricity.

In an open letter to Natural Resources and Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson and Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, the groups say financial support for the industry is at odds with the federal government’s pledge to phase out subsidies that harm biodiversity. The 24 signatories urge the government to “reverse course and choose true climate solutions” instead of “simply shifting from burning fossil fuels to burning forests for fuel.”

Continue reading Burning trees is not a clean energy option: climate advocates →
Cost of Climate Change

New emissions targets may sink LNG’s pitch as a shipping fuel

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The fossil fuel and shipping industries just got a serious shot across the bow over relying on liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a transition fuel.

On Friday, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) finalized stricter global emissions standards for the maritime industry while closing a significant regulatory loophole driving up the use of LNG as a shipping fuel.

LNG has lower CO2 emissions than other fossil fuels used in shipping but it also emits significant amounts of methane, a short-lived but powerful greenhouse gas responsible for more than 25 per cent of current global warming.

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Rivers & Oceans

Clock is running out for Canada to help secure a global treaty to protect the ocean

 Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It’s do-or-die time for Canada and the rest of the international community to finally get a deal done to protect the world’s oceans, say global leaders, environmental groups, and celebrity activists.

International delegates are hunkering down in the back rooms at the United Nations in New York until March 3 in a last-ditch attempt to broker a legally binding deal to protect biodiversity on the high seas. 

Continue reading Clock is running out for Canada to help secure a global treaty to protect the ocean →