I join my fellow Canadians in urging our federal government to enact stronger global warming laws and policies.
A Vision for Canada.
Canada: From Laggard to Leader
Global warming is getting worse and more quickly than most scientists had warned. Many countries are working hard at solutions and building new economies along the way. But Canada has some of the weakest national government policies in the world – weaker than China and India. (Climate Change Performance Index 2008)
• Countries as varied as Norway, New Zealand and Costa Rica have committed to become carbon neutral.
• The United Kingdom has committed to ensuring that all new homes are zero carbon by 2016.
• China has stronger vehicle efficiency regulations than Canada is proposing.
• Israel (pop. 7 million) has committed to an all-electric car infrastructure. By end-2011 they plan to have electric cars in mass production and half a million charging stations.
• The United States currently offers a renewable energy incentive that is more than double Canada’s.
• With a land mass less than Newfoundland and Labrador, Germany already has more than 20 times the installed wind power of Canada.
• Through its successful “feed-in tariff” program, Germany has ramped up renewable energy while creating almost 250,000 green jobs in the industry. Electricity costs have risen less than $2.20 (CAD) per month for a typical home.
• The government of Sweden has committed to build an “oil-free society” with the goal of tangibly reducing its use of oil products and ending its dependence on oil by 2020. Sweden has already reduced oil for residential and commercial heating by 70% over the last 30 years.
