Justin Trudeau is headed to a global climate conference conference in December, and told provincial and territorial leaders what to expect: “It is clear that the way forward for Canada will be in a solution that resembles Canada, that is shared values and shared desires for outcomes and different approaches to achieve those outcomes right across this great country.”
Trudeau has promised to take the issue more seriously than his predecessor, Stephen Harper, did. But this quote is a tautology—I’m not even sure what he’s trying to say here.
Canada has been one of the most unambitious countries in the global effort to slow greenhouse gasses. To set a more ambitious target than Harper, who pledged 30 percent lower greenhouse gasses by 2030 over 2005 levels, Trudeau will need to look at Alberta’s tar sands—considered the oil capital of Canada. This is the same industry that’s faced tough times recently as global oil prices have plummeted. So the Liberals still face the same political pressure to support and subsidize the oil sector.
Trudeau’s remarks aren’t a good omen. Protecting the tar sands might be a “solution that resembles Canada,” but that’s not a real strategy for addressing climate change.