In my previous two blog posts, I have summarised current scientific understanding of the nature of the climate emergency, and the directions in which policy needs to move in order to make the necessary transition technically possible. That only goes part of the way to a statement of what we need from our legislators; here... Continue Reading →
A framework for addressing the climate emergency
As I indicated in my last blog post, the recent 6th Assessment Report from Working Group 1 of the IPCC makes it clearer than ever that we are facing an emergency. The impact of greenhouse gas emissions on the climate is already severe – we’ve had a taste of that this summer, disastrous and terrifying... Continue Reading →
Yes, the science says this really is an emergency – but it’s not too late…
“It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land. Widespread and rapid changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred.” These are the opening words of the 6th Assessment Report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – the authoritative summary of the current state of understanding of the... Continue Reading →
A chance to learn how to find out what Big Carbon is doing
It’s no secret that corporate power is a major obstacle to ambitious action on climate change, and the interests of communities and places we’re fighting for. The more we know about the companies we’re grappling with, the better equipped we’ll be to respond. That’s why the Corporate Mapping Project (CMP) is inviting you to take... Continue Reading →
SK Environment Minister responds – sort of…
Saskatchewan environment minister Warren Kaeding has sent us a response to the letter we sent in March about the inappropriateness of small modular nuclear reactors in the face of the climate emergency. It's a classic example of a ministerial failure to engage with the arguments - not one of our three detailed points is addressed.... Continue Reading →
SK political leaders sabotaging climate action
On March 25th, the Supreme Court of Canada declared the federal carbon pricing scheme to be constitutional: the federal government has the legal right to impose it on provinces, such as Saskatchewan, which have not developed their own scheme. While carbon pricing is just one of the measures that we need to address the climate... Continue Reading →
Letter to MLAs: small modular nuclear reactors
Here is the text of a letter which we sent to all MLAs on March 15th: You will have received a letter from a coalition of groups expressing opposition to funding or development of small modular nuclear reactors (SMNRs) by the province of Saskatchewan. We also regard any positive consideration of SMNRs to be a... Continue Reading →
Federal Bill C-12 isn’t good enough to deal with the climate crisis
In mid-November, the government published Bill C-12, entitled “An Act respecting transparency and accountability in Canada’s efforts to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2050”. The Bill is currently (as of 2021-03-21) in Second Reading: it still has to go to Committee and to Third Reading, so amendments are still possible. (You can... Continue Reading →
“Management and reduction of greenhouse gases” from Saskatchewan’s electricity – the devil is in the detail
Any serious programme to address climate change has to include an accelerated phase-out of coal. That is because it’s the most carbon-intensive fuel in common use. Among the most carbon-intensive coals is the low-grade lignite which SaskPower uses to supply a little over 40% of our electricity – and which is responsible for over 70%... Continue Reading →
Let’s have some real democracy!
“It’s not the government’s role to put its thumb on the scale of any particular project – it undermines the public confidence that the environment is getting the protection that it needs. Governments issue permits, but communities grant permission.” An important statement of democratic values, and well put. The speaker was Justin Trudeau (video here),... Continue Reading →
