Since arriving back in Canada after the UNFCCC Bangkok meeting I found myself with grabbing two hours of sleep then catching an early morning train from Montreal to Ottawa to spend the week meeting with various MP’s to express my concern on Canada’s role through the UNFCCC process so far. With much excitement I had two meetings with Canada’s lead climate change negotiator Michael Martin in the short span of two days which also was followed up with meeting with the Canadian Environment Minister Jim Prentice. While the meetings with Michael Martin were more informal and had allowed for some updates from the Major Economies Forum which happened recently in London, the reported story of the G77 walk out in Bangkok and actually sharing some well wishes to Mr. Martin since the second meeting actually landed on his Birthday. Earlier on in the day the lead negotiator was present as a witness to the Bill C-311 committee who will decide if Canada will have ambitious emission reductions before the conference in Copenhagen or keep on their current path of week emission targets of 3% 1990 levels.

With having a fully packed week it would seem like the obvious thing to do would be to relax on the weekend to allow for some time to reflect on the busy week since returning to Canada, but that would not actually be possible with the largest Canadian youth gathering happening in Ottawa, Ontario. Power Shift Canada will begin today and run until Monday bringing over 1,000 youth from all of the provinces and territories in Canada providing workshops, flash mobs, entertainment and of course the 350.org International Day of Action on October 24th. There will be many opportunities for Canadian youth to learn more about the issue of climate change, how the UNFCCC process works, what Canada’s current position means for creating an ambitious, fair and legally binding outcome in Copenhagen and or course just a lot of general fun. Be sure to keep your eyes open online for all the content that will be created this this weekends event in Ottawa.

Tagged: 2009, Alberta, Canada, Climate Change, Climate Justice, Environment, Environment Minister, Environment Minister Jim Prentice, Global Warming, International Youth Climate Movement, Jim Prentice, Power Shift Canada, UNFCCC, United Nations, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Youth

After having some time to reflect on the meeting last week with Yvo de Boer the current Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and having one quote echo in my head I could not pass on writing about the topic since it really holds weight to the current Candian context and the slow progress that has been made so far in Bangkok.

Oil sands, also known as tar sands, or extra heavy oil, is a type of bitumen deposit. The sands are naturally occurring mixtures of sand or clay, water and an extremely dense and viscous form of petroleum called bitumen. They are found in large amounts in many countries throughout the world, but are found in extremely large quantities in Canada and Venezuela.

“Stop Financing The Past & Start Financing The Future.”

Yvo de Boer

While there has been a large growing amount of domestic pressure as well as international pressure to stop the one of the worlds largest  represent as much as two-thirds of the world’s total petroleum resource, with at least 1.7 trillion barrels (270×10^⁹ m³) in the Canadian Athabasca Oil Sands.

One might wonder how could there ever be a serious climate change policy from Canada while they are the largest supplier of crude oil and refined products to the United States, supplying about 20% of total U.S. imports, and exporting more oil and products to the U.S. than it consumes itself.  In 2006, Canadian bitumen production averaged 1.25 million barrels per day (200,000 m³/d) through 81 oil sands projects, representing 47% of total Canadian petroleum production. This proportion is expected to increase in coming decades as bitumen production grows while conventional oil production declines.

While it will not be easy for Canada move past this temporary barrier of moving past the Kyoto targets and the environmental impacts of the projects in Alberta will be a slow process to recover from.  The need to focus on mitigation and the use of clean energy to exceed the emission targets it is something that is required to prevent much of the climate impacts that are currently happening around the world from having great impacts to Canada’s natural environment and economy.

Tagged: Adopt A Negotiator, Alberta, Canada, Climate Change, Environment, Greenpeace, Jiri Rezac, Oil Sands, Tar Sands, UNFCCC, United Nations

Originally Posted At Adopt A Negotiator.org

During the second day at the UNFCCC meetings here in Bangkok I really had a hard time trying to grasp on what the Canadian Delegation’s position was and what they would be wanting to push for throughout the two weeks of negotiations. I had just kept going back to my second grade teacher who always taught us about The Golden Rule which is “Do To Others What You Would Like To Be Done To You” this was one of the many things that I think is usually a typical trait of a Canadian. So with that in mind I had hoped that the second day would allow for Canada as a country to treat the rest of the UN member states negotiating in Bangkok exactly how they would want to be treated.

Shortly after arriving at the United Nations Conference Centre someone commented on the small Canadian flag pin that I was wearing and then had to inquire what the other pin was beside it. The second pin I explained was from my province Prince Edward Island and  I had explained clearly that I am an Islander first before being a Canadian as I always do which created a smile from the fellow delegate. I had also explained that even though I am not proud of how Canada’s position here in Bangkok is not advancing the UNFCC process and that they are hiding behind other countries I wanted it to be to know that there are manyCanadian’s who want more action in throughout the meetings.

With the recent Tsunami hitting the Pacific region with major impacts on the Island of Samoa, American Samoa and Tonga to the flooding in the Philippines which highlights the urgency to address the issue of climate change I found myself more and more searching for climate leadership from the country that I was so proud of as a child. While I have always personally been concerned of the fate of my small northern Island home I became more worried about that impacts of the southern Islands where I have made many friends and the question of would the current actions of the Canadian delegation want the same to happen to the small Island where the Confederation of Canada was born.

While walking from sessions and looking for some of my fellow tracers I had noticed Canada’s Chief Negotiator and Ambassador for Climate Change Michael Martin, this would be the first opportunity to reintroduce myself. While it was a slightly crowded area I was surprised to noticed that it was slightly as if I was avoided from being acknowledged let alone approached. While I would normally brush this off as blending in with the crowd that could not be the case since I was wearing the famed “Negotiator Tracker” t-shirt while everyone around me is in business suits and that Mr. Martin did mention in an email remember meeting me with the Canadian Youth Delegation at COP 14 in Poznan Poland. Maybe it was my shorter hair which caused the confusion or maybe it was a busy day of meetings for Canada’s lead negotiator but one thing was clear it did make me feel like I had a little bit less of a voice in the whole process here in Bangkok.

Feeling slightly overwhelmed with the less than stellar advancements that had happened in the first two days here in Bangkok I decided to email the Environment Minister back in Canada to express some of the concerns that I had with the position Canada has had so far. Here is the message that I had sent to Minister Jim Prentice explaining my concern about nothing being mentioned about the Bangkok meetings nor the UN Climate Summit on his website while their was information on Prime Minister Harpers Tim Horton’s announcement. I urge and Canadian readers to also contact your MP to also express your concern over the UNFCCC Bangkok meeting and what the role Canada take will have on COP 15 in Copenhagen, the political will is not there so we need the pressure from citizens back home to ensure that the little time left to negotiate is not wasted.

While I am not sure of when or if there will be a response from the Environment Minister I do know that what is needed to help change Canada’s role here in Bangkok is a good reminder to the elected officials of who votes them into their positons and that if there is there is no action on climate change they might want to start looking for a new employment opportunity.

Tagged: AdoptANegotiator.org, Bangkok, Jim Prentice, Philippines, Prime Minister Harper, Samoa, Tonga, UNFCCC

While traveling in another country it always is important to keep up with the latest news stories that are coming out back home. It always is good to understand what news coverage is being focused on and if there is any actually reference of even basic understanding that the UNFCCC process is happening here in Bangkok. Before even getting to check into the usual news sources and to my surprise upon on many social networking platforms from Facebook to Twitter there seemed to be a large amount of people talking about the Prime Minister of Canada Singing A Beatles cover of “With a Little Help from My Friends.

Watch The Video Of Canada's Prime Minister Engaged In Song 

Instead Of The UNFCCC Negotiations in Bangkok.

The selected cover song could not have been a better selection to showcase the lack of action from Canada as well as some of the countries “Friends” throughout the first week of the very important process to address the impacts that climate change is having globally. While I understand that supporting the arts is very important I do think that with some of the past actions on cutting funding to many of the major arts programs in Canada the actions of the Prime Minister are making a total mockery of the United Nations process since there has been such a hands off approach on working along with the other 191 member states to address one of the largest barriers in the world to ensuring the safety of all living things. No matter which way you sing it Canada ratified the Kyoto Protocol and has to stand behind the key principals and the process of the UNFCCC no matter how important the current Prime Minister thinks our domestic oil sands industry is to our countries relationship with our “Friends.”

“Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Kyoto Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.”

Tagged: Bangkok, Beatles, Climate Justice, NAC Gala, national arts centre, Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, tcktcktck, UNFCCC, United Nations, With A Little Help From My Friends, Yo Yo Ma