EDMONTON - The Canadian Federal Government released their 2030 Emission Reduction Plan. While a step in the right direction, progressive advocacy organization Public Interest Alberta warns that the targets are insufficient to avoid the worst outcomes of climate change.
“Last summer, we experienced the hottest summer on record,” said Bradley Lafortune, Executive Director of Public Interest Alberta. “We saw firsthand the devastation wrought by forest fires as entire towns were wiped off the map. We know from the latest IPCC report that this decade must be the decade of action if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change to protect people, livelihoods, and the natural world.”
“Quite simply, the goal of net-zero by 2050 is insufficient. It’s so tepid that even Exxon-Mobil has signed on,” said Lafortune. “When oil and gas barons are comfortable with a climate target, it’s a surefire indication that it is not even close to ambitious enough.”
“While the 2030 Climate Target Plan has some great investments including investments in conservation and in Indigenous Leadership Fund, the plan still lets oil and gas production off the hook,” said Lafortune. “In order to meet ambitious targets, the oil and gas industry needs to be wound down in a way that ensures that all oil and gas workers and indirectly affected workers are able to access meaningful, prosperous, and sustainable employment.”
Lafortune continued, “Ambitious climate targets are not ‘a fantasy’, nor are they ‘insane’. They’re an absolute necessity to protect the planet and every human being on it—we need all politicians to accept this.”
“We need more than an overreliance on technocratic like carbon capture and bridge fuels,” said Lafortune. “We need a real transition to a low-carbon economy that puts workers first. And we need it now.”
