 
Letter to Premiers on Climate Change
On the Eve of the Marrakech Climate Talks
(COP7)
26 October 2001
Dear Premier;
We are writing to you on the eve of the Marrakech climate talks,
or COP7, to express our encouragement that you and your government
should do all in your power to support the Canadian Government delegates
in arriving at a successful outcome of that meeting.
We believe that it is in the long-term security interest of the
people of Canada, and the peoples of the world, to begin to see
the actual reversal of greenhouse gas emissions and to commence
the implementation of new rules to help us better confront the very
real possibility of a global environmental disaster. In this time
of international coalition-building to tackle dangerous threats
to our social well-being, we must not be deterred from simultaneously
building a solid global agreement to move forward on the climate
change front.
Only an agreement based on the Contraction and Convergence approach,
combined with appropriate international trading in emissions permits
will offer the prospect of security and self-sufficiency in energy
supply to developed and developing countries alike.
Since the July agreement in Bonn on broad political principles,
there has been insufficient attention to the need in Canada and
elsewhere of creating a low-carbon economy for the future.
- There is still support in the taxation system to advantage
the oil and gas industry over renewable energy sources.
- There is increased pressure for expanding exploration and distribution
of fossil fuel products, particularly to feed the energy appetite
of the United States.
- There is concern about an over-reliance on Clean Development
Mechanism and on emissions trading to offset the achievement of
the Kyoto targets, when the real percentage of emissions reductions
required is already far outstripping the benefits to be accrued
by implementing the smaller levels of the Kyoto Protocol.
There was progress in Bonn on many issues concerning the Climate
Change Convention, but there were others not completed. We strongly
urge that Canada press for Contraction and Convergence and support
the most stringent measures for itself:
- a smaller quota of its credits from sinks;
- commitment to greater energy efficiency and access to safe,
clean, renewable, low-intensity and decentralized forms of energy
supply;
- more equitable access for all countries to such energy to assure
their future social and economic development;
- a larger contribution to the Kyoto Protocol Adaptation Fund;
- a stronger effort to model to other developed countries its
commitment to the Joint Implementation regime.
We know that this may present certain immediate challenges in
our domestic context but there are as many opportunities for economic
revitalization. The urgency is such that only clear directions and
certainty about the Kyoto Protocol's rules and a commitment to implement
them will motivate the private sector, individuals and communities
to undergo the transformation that must be embraced to prevent further
rampant accumulation of GHGs in the atmosphere.
An effective Canada-wide climate change strategy is essential.
Unless all Provinces and Territories cooperate to lend their efforts
to the ratification and subsequent implementation of the Kyoto Protocol
our national progress will be slow - too slow to meet the present
need. This is not a time to argue that some will benefit or pay
more than others, and therefore a policy to more equitably share
the burden will have to be devised. However, the first step is accepting
our historic responsibility and our role in demonstrating leadership
in the developed world.
In the work that faith communities have undertaken in the Jubilee
public education and advocacy campaign of this past year Canadians
have repeatedly expressed their deep desire for their leaders to
take on the challenge of confronting the unfolding realities and
to lead us in a right relationship with the Earth and all God's
Creation.
Our posture should be one of cooperating in "peace-building
in the atmosphere". We strongly urge you to ensure that your
government commits itself, with all other provinces and territories
to the successful resolution of these negotiations and the way ahead.
Sincerely,
Pat Steenberg
Executive Director
Marjorie Ross
Chair, Board of KAIROS
c.c. |
|
Minister responsible for Environment
Minister responsible for Energy |
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