Smoke and Mirrors - Trudeau's Climate Action Plan

 

Prime minister Trudeau recently previewed his government's climate action plan and, as one might expect, it's vague to the point of meaningless, just the way this PM likes it.


Mr. Trudeau said the government has been investing in flood-plain protection and developing better strategies on disaster management response. However, the Liberals remain in the early stages of putting together a national climate-adaptation plan. Specific plans to deal with emergencies such as forest fires and floods aren’t expected to be finished until late next year, and it may be 2023 before there is any funding made available to support those measures.

The Prime Minister said the government has a target of protecting 25 per cent of Canada’s natural habitats. He said wetlands can serve as a firebreak, and a more resilient, biodiverse ecosystem is more resistant to floods and fires.

For a country as vast and sparsely populated as Canada, protecting 25 per cent isn't much of a reach, is it?  Of course not. If Germany or France does it, that's a big deal. Canada, not so much.

“Those are things we are doing now that we can accelerate,” he said.

“We simply have to be even more aggressive in our thoughts,” the Prime Minister said. “We recently announced that there will only be zero-emission vehicles sold in Canada by 2035, for light trucks and cars. This creates a positive feedback loop.

"More aggressive in our thoughts." WTF? As in "thoughts and prayers"?

“When you begin to make a shift, suddenly the opportunities, the market shifts, the business cases, the pitch to shareholders in investing in capital upgrades, suddenly everything becomes easier and you get a positive feedback loop. I think that’s what you’re seeing now.”

He likened fighting climate change to turning a big ship in the ocean. At first, it doesn’t feel like the boat is moving at all. He said eventually – in the case of climate change policy, we’re talking decades – movement begins to accelerate.

Isn't that cute? The little prince imagines we've got decades to change. I wonder if he's heard of the Titanic?

“I think we’ve reached a point over the past five years where you can feel the momentum shift and not a second too soon,” said the Prime Minister.

“People have said we didn’t do it quickly enough. Well, you can’t flip something like the Canadian economy quickly. You need to turn it with steady pressure that pushes back against the inertia of ‘we’ve always done things this way.’ We’re going with the flow now and have real momentum.”

Globe columnist, Gary Mason, was on his best behaviour, not even asking the Dauphin the obvious questions such as:

What's with this 23 billion dollars lavished on pipeline construction and supports since 2018? How does that play into your climate emergency plans?

How will flooding world markets with one of the most terrible fossil fuels, high-carbon bitumen, reflect on  Canada's climate initiatives?

Why is Canada dead last in the G7 on climate change? Why, after more than 30 years of empty promises, are emissions still on the rise in Canada? 

What about that review you got in The Guardian? The one that says you've been blowing smoke up our arses?  And then there's that recent report from Natural Resources Canada that says our country has been left unprepared for the floods and droughts, heatwaves and fires?  You do know that people are dying, don't you?

After six years you can judge this prime minister not just by his words but by his deeds. This guy is as dishonest as the guy he replaced. He says what he thinks you want to hear. His promises don't amount to much in many cases. 




Comments

  1. John B.July 12, 2021 at 5:30 AM

    Is Trudeau being disingenuous when he mouths these meaningless pronouncements and platitudes? I think he just seldom knows what he's talking about and the experience of the political success that he's had has convinced him that it doesn't matter as long as he continues to have that success.

    There's something that 's really annoying about his increasing confidence. While his positive prospects are derived from nothing more than the incompetence of his opposition, I don't think he understands that. And I don't think that he knows any more now than he did when he started in politics. He's nothing but style and his dependence on style and personal charm might be the Canadian version of the permanent campaign. We don't need any more sermons from airheads.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The Disaffected LibJuly 12, 2021 at 7:41 AM

    Fortunately, John, we don't need to parse his words to get the measure of this man. His deeds speak much more clearly.

    His caucus joined in supporting the NDP motion to declare a state of climate emergency exists in Canada and then the Liberals ignored it even as the impacts mounted.

    Trudeau's description of climate action as a slow-turning, giant ship that will take many years to veer onto a new course demonstrates that he doesn't see any great urgency in this. Besides, he's got billions to spend on pipelines. You can't have it both ways seems to be his message and, on that score, he's right.

    The Globe's Gary Adams let Trudeau skate through that interview without facing one hard question.

    ReplyDelete

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