Last week, I visited my MP Wayne Stetski’s Nelson office to deliver the new Summary for Policymakers by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the world’s most authoritative voice on climate science. I also called on my MP to champion legislation that aligns Canada’s climate policies with the urgency of this report, which clearly states that we have 12 years to prevent global warming beyond 1.5 degrees, and avoid the most devastating impacts of climate change.
While I was glad to watch an emergency debate last week in the House of Commons on this sobering report, Canada’s international climate commitments are as unambitious as they were under Stephen Harper, a known opponent to climate action. And we’re not even on track to meet those commitments. Wayne Stetski knows that the future is at stake.
That’s why I called on him to champion legislation that would freeze further fossil fuel expansion, strengthen Canada’s climate commitments, and accelerate the transition to 100 per cent renewable energy. This is the action that scientists are telling us we need.
I was accompanied by Diana van Eyk who presented Stetski with a petition supporting the “Delivering Community Power” proposal by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers and a number of other organizations. The initiative shows how Canada can run entirely on renewable electricity by 2035 and transition to a 100 per cent clean economy by 2050.
I hope that other MPs are willing to listen.
Michael Jessen
Nelson