A dire warning

Basically, we're doomed, and in more extreme ways than we thought, according to the IPCC's most recent climate change report released on Friday (Good Friday- a holiday).

The world faces increased hunger and water shortage that will causes the sea level to rise and flood Richmond and other low-lying areas of Canada and the world.

But the forecasts released to the public are only a fraction of the findings presented to the scientists and government officials who drafted the report, the most comprehensive and clear account of the effects of climate change to date.

The Agreement came after an all-night session during which key sections were deleted from the draft and scientists angrily confronted government negotiators who they feared were watering down their findings.

Watered down or not, the stark realities of climate change have now made it a moral, not just a political issue, according to Greenpeace. The group says we owe it to future generations to deal with climate change now.

In light of this report, and the fact that Ontario is facing a white Easter weekend, climate change is remaining a salient issue on potential voters' minds. Hopefully these phenomena will increase public pressure on the Harper government to enact climate change legislation.

Waiting for the climate situation to change

The second IPCC report will be handed down on Friday.

Perhaps the first step scientists need to take toward action on climate change is to stop releasing their findings on Fridays. Don't they know that's the worst time in the news cycle for optimum coverage?

While scientists struggle with PR, the Conservatives seem to know how to play the numbers in their strategy. They are unveiling new initiatives and strategies in advent to what some say is an imminent election. And they have the money to spend.

They're also rolling out new campaign tactics, answering the Liberals, who have resorted to attacks on YouTube, in a surprisingly clever way. (who knew Conservatives had a sense of humour?)

Are things looking up for the Tories even though they're ignoring the environment?

Climate change is still in the headlines and the weather around the country is wacky, with temperatures in Ontario fluctuating from 20 above to two below Celsius. And in Vancouver, the Weather Network calls for rain for the next week and a half (Oh sorry, that's normal in Vancouver).

Even General Electric is calling for harder emission caps targets. But the Tories have yet to release their promised carbon reduction plan.

Despite the wacky weather and lack of a plan, the Conservatives are well poised in the election environment. A recent Angus Reid poll put them at 39 per cent and the Liberals at only 22 per cent.

One solution for those who are still waiting for the climate situation to change is to sign the online petition to allow Elizabeth May, the Green Party leader, into the Federal election debates next time around.

Heated debates and melting ice

If the long term international consequences of climate change are not enough to propel the Canadian government into action, Michael Byers, a Political Science professor at UBC, hopes the potential loss of Canadian sovereignty in the arctic will.

Byers has travelled to the Canadian arctic to witness the melting sea ice, a by-product of climate change, and says the government needs to step up their action on climate change.

But John Baird is not listening to the public, academics, or fellow MPs.

The opposition parties slashed through the Conservatives' Clean Air Act this week. In the politically savvy move, the opposition parties gutted the Conservative bill and added strict targets that adhere to Canada's Kyoto obligations, leaving the Conservatives little choice but to watch the new bill pass.

Baird called the move a partisan effort to bring down the Conservatives in the same breath as slagging the Liberals.

“I think this is clearly more about politics than it is about serving the environment. We’ll take a period to look at the entirety of the damage that the Liberals have done and make a call in the future ... I can tell you I’m not happy.”

As the tensions over climate change rise on Parliament Hill, the country creeps closer to an election that is set to be focused on the environment. The hot tempers flaring in Ottawa right now are enough to melt the sea ice in the arctic alone.

Provinces go their own way

The Liberals beat out the autonomous Action democratique du Quebec and the third-placed separatist Parti Quebecois to secure a minority government after a tight three way race in Quebec.

Ironically, some pundits are attributing the Liberal win in part to Harper's loose commitment to federalism. The Conservative plan gives la belle province has the autonomy it has long called for, meaning that the need for parties that focus on the sovereignty issue has diminished.

Quebecers have seized the opportunity to elect a party that focuses on another issue close to their hearts -- the environment.

In Canada's greenest province, the Green party won a significant number of votes and finished second in a handful of ridings.

The success of the Parti Vert in Quebec, and the B.C. government's recent U-turn on the environment signal that the provinces are following through on the climate change issue while the federal government stagnates.

John Baird has promised to unveil mandatory emissions reductions by the end of the month. But March is almost over and we've yet to hear the plan from the Environment Minister.

Its starting to look like autonomous provincial efforts are the country's best hope for action on climate change.

An election environment

Baird is warning Canadian businesses against participating in carbon trading schemes, forbidding them to participate in the international trading system on their own.

The Liberals are accusing Baird of lying to the world about reversing his stance against international carbon trading regimes.

"Either this government is going to allow Canadian companies to trade in carbon credits or not," said Liberal Environment Critic David McGuinty. "In Canada Mr. Baird says international markets don't work, but in Europe he says we're considering participating in them. What's the truth? "

It seems ironic that the Environment Minister is warning against a green initiative. Is it possible that he is trying to garner the affections of pro-business, anti-Kyoto voters in advent of an election?

According to a new poll published in the Globe and Mail, the Conservatives are heading toward a majority in the next election, sitting eight points ahead of the Liberals.

While a majority of Canadians say they would vote for the new Conservative budget, the NDP and the Liberals say they will vote against it, which means the budget could fall and an election might soon be called.

But the Conservatives' brokerage approach to climate change (appealing to environmentalists by promising action and the pro-business, oil and gas voters by not committing to environmental regulations) has been successful given that 39 per cent of Canadians support the Tories.

Federal budget lacks green flesh

The Conservatives doled out $4.5 million in environmental spending yesterday in their highly anticipated budget announcement.

The budget made no reference to Kyoto, despite the Tories' formal agreement to honour its obligations in the House last month.

But it made at least some progressive steps toward reducing Canada's greenhouse gas emissions, including:

- up to $2,000 for buying fuel-efficient vehicles
- a levy of up to $4,000 on gas-guzzlers
- $36 million to get old and inefficient cars off the road
- $2 billion over seven years to aid in the production of renewable fuels including ethanol and biodiesel
- $250 million to conserve ecologically important lands
- $417 million for a clean water strategy

But for many environmentalists and opposition critics the budget was another example of the Tories' continued political maneuvering to sidestep putting meaningful, long-term, pro-active solutions in place to fight climate change.

The environment is a central to whether the budget will pass in the House. If it fails there will be another election.

But the Conservatives are positioned well in the polls. And the high spending in this year's budget indicates their desire to appease as many potential voters as possible.

If I was skeptical about the Conservatives' intentions, I would probably conclude that they are poised for an election -- one that is set to be focused on the environment.

The greenest day of the year

People around the world celebrated "greenness" in various ways this weekend.

While St.Patrick's day enthusiasts drank green beer, John Baird met with international environment ministers at a climate change conference in Germany.

Baird dismissed a green plan put forward by Liberal leader Stephane Dion on Friday and promised a tough new climate change plan by the end of the month.

"I think that the kind of initiatives that Canada will roll out are going to be among the toughest in the world for the next five years," Baird said in a teleconference from Potsdam, Germany.

Despite the Canadian government's refusal to participate in an international carbon trading scheme, its inaction was not considered the biggest threat to the global environment by the conference's attendees.

Instead, a consensus emerged among the G8 countries that the U.S. was to blame for not taking up it role as global leader on the climate change issue and the Conservatives can celebrate upholding their green facade.