Dear Editor,
I’d like to congratulate the City of Richmond for being on pace to carbon neutrality for a second straight year. I wish our provincial and federal governments would take notice of Richmond’s prowess on addressing environmental issues and mitigating risks to our climate.
Thanks to Canada’s National Inventory Report, we now have climate data through 2013. B.C.’s carbon emissions have been increasing since 2010. Last month, the federal environment minister wrote to Mary Polak, B.C.’s environment minister saying that B.C. is failing to meet 2020 greenhouse gas emissions targets.
In fact, B.C. is on pace to increase emissions by 11 per cent by 2020 instead of meeting their obligation of reducing emissions by 33 per cent of 2007 levels by 2020.
Last month, Environment Canada announced that emissions rose in 2013 and that Canada will likely fail to meet international obligations with respect to 2020 targets.
Ninety-seven per cent of climate scientists agree that man-made global warming is real and that we need to address it. The U.S. Pentagon says climate change is a national security issue.
The World Food Program estimates that the number of people who could be affected by climate change-related disasters could reach 375 million per year. Oxfam estimates that food prices could rise by 50-60 per cent by 2030, thanks to climate change.
There’s been zero leadership coming from Premier Christy Clark on this issue. She believes in man-made climate change, but judging from her actions, or lack there of, she doesn’t believe in combatting it. It’s clear that the public wants some sort of action on climate change. There just hasn’t been any coming from the B.C. Liberal government.
Ramesh Ranjan
Richmond
