Global warming. This topic or word has probably come up so many times over the past few months, maybe in daily conversations, on the media, at school or even at the workplace, and most of the time, it’s not always good things we hear. This might be true in some cases, especially considering the fact that from 1948 to 2013, the average annual temperature of Canada has increased by 1.6 degree Celsius (StatCan, n.d.). Resulting, in a much more rapid rate of melting at the northern ice caps. For instance, the Meighen Ice Cap has lost 11% since 1960, around 35% of which was lost after 2005. This melting has resulted in higher sea levels, floods, and much milder weather (Fekete, 2014). Although, these events certainly sound disastrous but as people
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Now, here’s the ridiculous part, Canada didn’t want to be part of the Kyoto Protocol as they had to purchase a costly and significant amount of international credits but once they quit, Canada had to pay a whopping estimated amount of $14 billion in penalties (Pennie, 2011.). Moreover, although Canada is performing bad at its climate change game, Canada spent a total of $1.2 billion to developing countries to help them combat climate change, certainly Canada is way too nice in this aspect (Pennie, 2011). However, the Kyoto Protocol is a tad bit unfair as it doesn’t focus on major emitters like China and India to cut on greenhouse gases. Nonetheless, Canada’s withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol is really starting to be a great opportunity for Canada, since Canada has joined two renowned environmental organization, that solely focus on global issues such as climate change and global warming, the Copenhagen Accord and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). There has been a lot of improvement, especially learning from mistakes from the past, and also this time, there seems to be a stronger determination for fulfilling the goals and tasks given. In fact, euphorically Canada is halfway to meet its Copenhagen Accord goals and emissions are now a projected 122 megatonnes higher than Canada’s target of 612 (Harris, K). Additionally, over the past few years, Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 3.1% while the economy grew by a significant 12.9% (UNFCCC, 2015). Furthermore, the Government of Canada is targeting Canada’s major economic partners, like the United States to regulate their missions too, recognizing the fact that U.S accounts for 20% of Canada’s emissions (Government of Canada, 2013). As a result, Canada has placed regulations on two major sectors: transportation,
Now, here’s the ridiculous part, Canada didn’t want to be part of the Kyoto Protocol as they had to purchase a costly and significant amount of international credits but once they quit, Canada had to pay a whopping estimated amount of $14 billion in penalties (Pennie, 2011.). Moreover, although Canada is performing bad at its climate change game, Canada spent a total of $1.2 billion to developing countries to help them combat climate change, certainly Canada is way too nice in this aspect (Pennie, 2011). However, the Kyoto Protocol is a tad bit unfair as it doesn’t focus on major emitters like China and India to cut on greenhouse gases. Nonetheless, Canada’s withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol is really starting to be a great opportunity for Canada, since Canada has joined two renowned environmental organization, that solely focus on global issues such as climate change and global warming, the Copenhagen Accord and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). There has been a lot of improvement, especially learning from mistakes from the past, and also this time, there seems to be a stronger determination for fulfilling the goals and tasks given. In fact, euphorically Canada is halfway to meet its Copenhagen Accord goals and emissions are now a projected 122 megatonnes higher than Canada’s target of 612 (Harris, K). Additionally, over the past few years, Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions have decreased by 3.1% while the economy grew by a significant 12.9% (UNFCCC, 2015). Furthermore, the Government of Canada is targeting Canada’s major economic partners, like the United States to regulate their missions too, recognizing the fact that U.S accounts for 20% of Canada’s emissions (Government of Canada, 2013). As a result, Canada has placed regulations on two major sectors: transportation,