Election 2019 - The Youth and the World Are Watching
On Monday, October 21, Election Day in Canada, youths are not the only ones watching this election - the world is watching Canada’s election too.
For the past nine years, our volunteers have presented to their Members of Parliament countless facts about how carbon fee and dividend can bring greenhouse gas emissions under control without burdening taxpayers.
We have collated the climate policies in the election platforms of Canada’s main political parties and have presented our results in a table with explanations.
In September the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released their special report on water and the cryosphere.
“This latest IPCC report reminds us that the consequences of our climate emergency are exponentially more severe if we as a collective do not change our priorities now,” says Cathy Orlando, National Director of Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada. “The good news is we can change the way we engage with our democracy now for an exponentially more liveable world.”
It's Back To School Time and The Adults Have Homework
The youth are looking to adults to protect them from climate breakdown. When school started in September a list of homework assignments for adults were suggested that included:
Watching Global Weirding videos by Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, especially “What’s the Big Deal with a Few Degrees” and “Oh Canada – Global Weirding”.
Do you have some unanswered questions and thoughts about Canada, carbon pricing and the climate crisis? Then, we suggest that you read our Laser Talks booklet.
Since September 2010, Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada has been sending out actions sheets to our volunteers every month. For almost nine years volunteers across Canada have been receiving one or two talking points assignments in our action sheets called “LASER Talks”. As part of our summer preparation for election 2019, as a collective, we compiled the best LASER Talks then edited and updated the best ones as well as added new talking points and put them into a booklet.
CCL Canada's Response to the IPCC SR on Climate Change and Land
In August the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), released their special report on climate change and land. A tweet from the IPCC succinctly summed up the conclusions, “Land is under growing human pressure. Land is a part of the solution. But land can’t do it all.”
This latest IPCC report shows that better land management can contribute to tackling climate change, but is not the only solution. We must cut emissions. We still have a lot more work to do but with the right policies, including pricing carbon as a core component of a cost-effective climate plan could help bend the curve.
We are action-oriented and in 2019, our volunteers have been busy in their ridings generating the political will for liveable world by creating actions. CCL Canada recorded appearances on editorial pages by year. 2017*: 525 LTEs; 77 Ed; 103 OpEds; Total = 705 2018: 590 LTEs; 1 Ed; 35 OpEds; Total = 626 2019 up to Oct 1, 2019: 368 LTEs; 50 OpEds; Total = 418 *2017 was a critical year and we really emphasized LTEs. That year Postmedia newspaper chain repeatedly endorsed carbon fee and dividend in nationally syndicated columns. CCL Canada recorded outreach by year 2017:129 2018:87 2019 up to Oct 1, 2019: 133 We are grateful for all the work by our volunteers. We wish them and all of you a happy Election Day. Vote like the future depends on it because it does and always has.
We have to be our own superheros
After watching the Emergency Debate last fall about the 1.5C IPCC in the House of Commons on October 15, 2018, CCL Greater Sudbury member Sophia Mathur finally got permission from her father to strike for the climate with Greta Thunberg and the Fridays For Future movement. Sophia became the first youth outside of Europe to join the Fridays For Future movement according to Wikipedia. Over the past 11 months a diverse community has formed around the local strikers in Greater Sudbury and it manifested beautifully in a multi-cultural tri-lingual event on September 26, 2019.
At the rally Sophia said, “There will be no superheroes to come and save us. We have to be our own superheroes.”
