Rod Phillips, the Ontario Environmental Minister, recently stated that “the best approach [to climate change] is to have a plan and then [bring forward] any targets as part of the plan.” So how does this vague statement of policy fit in with The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change? Over two years ago, … Read more
In 2017 Germany ranked as the 22nd largest emitter of GHG emissions. Its emissions as a per centage of worlds total emissions amounted to 1.7 %. As a party to the Paris Accord, Germany assumed a responsibility of reducing its emissions to achieve the targets in the Paris accord. The emissions by each of the … Read more
4RG first commented on the use of aspirational in our blog “Harper and Aspirational Targets”. “Aspirational “ has now become the international buzz word for measures to reduce GHG emissions. Nations used the word to confirm that they would set ambitious targets for reducing their emissions. By setting an ambitious target, a nation could maintain … Read more
The Federal Government is once again re-assuring Canadians that economic growth can be consistent with reduction of Canada’s GHG emissions. Canada accepted emission reduction targets when it ratified the Paris Agreement. The consensus of experts is that the Paris Agreement targets agreed to by all countries are unambitious. These targets will not limit global warming … Read more
Deciding which countries will successfully meet climate change goals is as difficult as choosing the winning horse before a race starts. There are too many variables to be certain of the outcome., So, just as in a horse race, an assessment of a country’s commitment to meet these goals requires a consideration of “the odds”, … Read more
In our blog on COP 22 ( “Trump spoils the party at Marrakech.” ) we reported that President Trump moved quickly to fulfill his campaign promise to pull the US out of the Paris Accord. We observed that: “. . . the whole UN process has been undermined by US politics. If the US withdraws … Read more
Two months ago, we commented on the extraordinary amount of damage caused by successive hurricanes hitting the Caribbean Islands and the US Southern States. There is no doubt that the increased severity of these “natural” events is a result of global warming. The world-wide insurance industry has for many years warned of this possibility. Four … Read more