Should Canada’s Stance on Climate Change be Singled out for Criticism in Copenhagen?
Should they share the blame?
Photo Credit: The Age
As the world turns its attention to the climax of the climate summit in Copenhagen this week, it is worth considering some of the criticism that has been aimed at the Canadian government over the last month or so. Much of it has been vitriolic in nature and seemingly unrelenting in the build up to the meeting in the Danish capital. And as has been the case in the preceding months, much of it has centred on the issue of the Athabasca Oil Sands and the lingering fallout from Canada’s failure to adhere to their Kyoto pledge of lowering carbon emissions. The question though, is whether this sustained anger is justified?
George Monbiot, writing for the British Guardian newspaper last month, declared that ‘’this thuggish petro-state is today the greatest obstacle to a deal in Copenhagen.” And while Monbiot is known by some in his home country for his reactionary journalism and bluntly made points, it was still enough to provoke a reply from the Canadian government. In an article, also published in the Guardian, Jim Prentice, Canada’s minister for the environment, claimed “Canada will continue to play an active and constructive role at Copenhagen.” Prentice’s claims seem to have been in earnest, as UN climate change chief Yvo de Boer commented last week that Canada has been “negotiating very constructively” in Copenhagen.
With this in mind it could be said that it would be unfair to single Canada out for such sustained criticism. While it is certainly true that Stephen Harper and his government have been guilty of “dragging their heels” with regards to environmental policies, and that Canada hardly has a marvelous recent track record, it is not alone in its involvement in the tar sands or in the prevention of progress at the ongoing summit.
As many have pointed out, the financial backing for the tar sands project was provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland in the UK, journalist Eriel Deranger claiming that “backed by £1bn in debt underwritten by RBS this year, ConocoPhillips aims to expand production from its three tar sands projects eightfold by 2015.” Their investment is not only limited to North American companies either as “RBS also underwrote $378m (£299m) in debt issued by Norway’s Statoil in March of this year, just two months before the Norwegian parliament considered a motion to suspend the company’s tar sands projects due to climate concerns.” RBS, the bank now part owned by the British taxpayer, has bankrolled the tar sands operation for its own gain. So while Alistair Darling, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, bleats relentlessly about the disgusting nature of banker’s bonuses in the current economic climate, he conveniently chooses to ignore how the real running of the state funded bank is directly at odds with the British Labour party’s views on the environment. This is particularly surprising seeing as they are pushing their ‘green’ policies, as the next general election in the UK looms large.
Yet it is not only the UK that has a finger in the Alberta tar sands pie. A glance at the national affiliations of the companies involved in Athabasca reveals French, Japanese, Norwegian and Korean energy companies all vying for a share of the profits. This excerpt from Stephen Harper addressing the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce in 2006 underlined the reasons for the international involvement in the tar sands, when he declared “industry analysts are recommending Canada as possessing the most attractive combination of circumstances for energy investment of any place in the world.” For the record, Canada has the second largest oil reserves in the world after Saudi Arabia. In other words, Canada, apart from massive resources, possesses something that cannot be bought – regional stability. Neither in the middle-east or an OPEC member, Canada is the safest bet for any government to secure a future source of oil. So while many country’s administrations may be publicly condemning Canada for the ongoing project in Alberta they will do little to jeopardize their future involvement with the resulting product. Likewise, the Canadian government is not going to abandon a guaranteed source of revenue that will fill its coffers for many years to come.
It is endemic of the current furore that exists around the issue of climate change that politicians must relentlessly, and without hesitation, put forward a public face of disdain for any non complying company or government, while simultaneously beating their chest about their own achievements. And what is more galling is that it acts as a smokescreen for continued interests that are directly at odds with their public ‘green’ image. It is foolish to think that governments around the world will abandon business interests that generate mind-boggling figures of revenue for their own economies or that secure future fuel links if they are not directly in the public eye or on domestic territory.
While the Canadian government cannot be excused for its often-reluctant nature to address serious environmental issues, it is also foolish to single them out when there is a much more crucial and deep-rooted problem in global politics with regards to securing the future of the environment.
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Tags: alberta tar sands, climate change, copenhagen, Environment
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December 18th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
C02 caused climate change is a lie and a means to one world government. Al Gores’ crusade against global warming is as legitimate as his wife Tippers’ was on that devils’ music,heavy metal. The world always has and always will go through climate changes and it’s disgusting that these slimey weasles are scaremongering a lot of well intentioned people into paying them to stop it.Good luck with that as we are very insignificant.
December 19th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
As a born Canadian, i am very proud of Canada and its performance at this sham conference. We have done the right thing and need to stand our ground.
December 26th, 2009 at 11:21 am
I, too, am proud of Canada’s stance at the conference. Affordable, realistic goals, not pie-in-the-sky ideals. I am also upset with outside interference in Canada’s politics. The UK High Commissioner to Canada Anthony Cary has been the most vocal complainer about Canada-Copenhagen. I ask him to stick to his usual gossipy diplomat duties and represent his own country’s views instead of tearing down Canada’s but he was not polite enough to answer me.