http://business.financialpost.com/fp-comment/canada-may-already-be-carbon-neutral-so-why-are-we-keeping-it-a-secret
[An argument for business as usual for Canada on the climate change front.]
F. Larry Martin, Special to Financial Post | March 2, 2016 4:40 PM ET
Here’s a seemingly simple question: Is Canada a net carbon dioxide
emitter? You would think so from reading news headlines. We’ve earned
the scorn of environmentalists, NGOs, and media outlets galore, labelled
with such juvenile epithets as “fossil of the year” or “corrupt
petro-state.”
Sadly, lost in all the hyperbole is the actual science. There is nothing
quantitative about the vague idea that, as a “progressive nation,”
Canada should be expected to “do more” to fight climate change.
But therein lies the rub; Canada is poised to immediately do more to
combat climate change than almost every other country in the world. How,
you ask? Well, by doing more of the same. If that sounds ludicrous, let
me explain.
Most Canadians would agree that our response to climate change needs to
be scientifically sound, environmentally sustainable and financially
realistic, as well as global, comprehensive, and holistic. Right now,
our approach is none of those things; the public discourse is driven by
a myopic, ideological obsession with carbon emissions alone. What else
is there, you ask?
The answer comes from the most recent report (2014) of the Global Carbon
Project, which states that global human-induced CO2 emissions were 36
billion tonnes. Of that, 36 per cent stayed in the atmosphere, 27 per
cent was absorbed by water, and 37 per cent was absorbed by land.
That’s right — absorbed by land! Not all CO2 emitted by people stays in
the atmosphere. Much of it returns to the earth, mainly through the
carbon absorption and sequestration power of plants, soil, and trees.
A conservative estimate of Canada’s existing carbon-absorption capacity,
based on land area and the global carbon-absorption average, indicates
that Canada could already be absorbing 20 to 30 per cent more CO2 than
we emit. Using the same calculation, the “Big Four” polluters of China,
the U.S., the European Union, and India, which together are responsible
for a whopping 60 per cent of global CO2 emissions, release 10 times
more CO2 than their combined land area absorbs. Canada doesn’t seem very
dirty now, do we?
So when was the last time you heard a Canadian political leader, let
alone the media, talk about our carbon-absorption capacity? Probably
never, because we are currently ignoring that side of the equation, for
a couple reasons.
First, there is insufficient political will. The government’s top
experts need a mandate to pursue in-depth measurement of CO2 absorption.
Recently, Canada’s federal and provincial auditors general announced a
joint audit of the country’s carbon emissions. But what credible audit
would examine only half a balance sheet? There’s no reason why they
shouldn’t audit our absorption capacity, too. How much CO2 did our
forests and land absorb? Do some trees and topographies perform better
than others? In short, what is Canada’s carbon balance?
Second, it’s contrary to the interests of urbanized, overpopulated,
deforested places in Europe, Asia & the Middle East to allow vast,
sparsely populated, forested countries like Canada to set the climate
change agenda. It doesn’t help them whatsoever for Canada to claim our
fair share of the world’s carbon absorption capacity, and emerge as one
of the planet’s climate leaders.
If Europe and our other traditional “Western Allies” won’t acknowledge
the free ride that we are providing them by protecting our forests and
thus subsidizing their emissions, it’s time for Canada to find climate
allies who understand us and share our needs. It’s time for some Green
Realpolitik.
We should seek out new alliances with other large, forested countries,
starting with Russia, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Argentina,
Indonesia, and Peru. These countries, and many others, will all benefit
from a new approach that rewards carbon absorption, and would bring
diverse cultural voices and political interests together around this
important climate issue.
Many people in these countries have to choose between their forests and
their livelihoods, as they scramble to survive the day. Some of them
still clear-cut or burn their forests for the sake of agriculture or
industry. But what if they no longer had to choose between planet and
profit?
Imagine the kind of eco-friendly economy that DRC Congo, Peru, or any
other forested country could build by generating carbon credits to sell
to Dubai, Singapore, or Luxembourg. Countries on the receiving end of
cap-and-trade credits could build entire green economies around
conservation, not consumption. Financial pressure to deforest would
subside, replaced with incentives to manage our forests and preserve
their attendant ecosystems. As a bonus, Canada and its new, green allies
could label all our exports as “proudly carbon neutral.”
Imagine, too, the possibilities for indigenous people all over the world
to leverage their traditional role as protectors of the environment into
a feasible economic opportunity. We are constantly looking for ways to
bridge gaps between modern society and native cultures, so why not
empower indigenous people to take on a leadership role as stewards of
the world’s precious forests?
Canada must successfully lobby for a world market on carbon-offset
credits, where CO2 absorption is part of the equation. The potential
impact is huge. Based on the aforementioned estimates of our absorption
capacity, and a conservative CO2 price of $40/tonne, Canada stands to
gain $10 billion per year. Think about it; we might currently be giving
away $10 billion to the rest of the world, including the Big Four
polluters, every year, for free.
$10 billion dollars in our coffers could go a long way toward balancing
the budget, investing in sustainable energy, providing social programs,
incentivizing innovation, renewing infrastructure, and generally
improving Canada’s fortunes. So when Prime Minister Trudeau meets with
provincial, territorial, and indigenous leaders, he owes it to Canadians
to put this issue on the agenda. The only thing we’re really asking is
for our leaders to consider the entire carbon cycle, from emission to
absorption, in order to get the “balance sheet” right. Then, and only
then, can our best minds get to work on making a climate plan that is
fair for all Canadians, and that reflects our true contribution to the
world’s climate solution.
It would be nice to end on that hopeful note, but the realistic future
looks rather bleak. The prime minister thus far seems content to
position himself as a goodwill ambassador to the UN and Europe, not
someone who will go toe to toe with them to defend Canadian interests.
Meanwhile, our other leaders are falling victim to their own political
ideologies. Rachel Notley wants to kick Albertans while they’re down
with a new tax, Manitoba’s Greg Sellinger thinks he can magically
reverse flooding via taxation, and Ontario’s recent climate initiative
is a case study in the myopic, emissions-only approach to cap-and-trade.
Quebec mayors like Montreal’s Coderre blindly oppose the Energy East
pipeline, forsaking the memory of those who died in Lac Mégantic due to
the dangers of transporting oil by train.
Taxing Canadians to try to make planet Earth greener is futile policy
based on a half-blind approach that only considers emissions from our
resources, not absorption from our land and forests. Unless we change
that perspective, the inevitable result is a drag on our economy with
job casualties, increased costs, and lost business opportunities,
ultimately weakening Canada’s ability to compete on the international
stage. And for what do we sell out our future? To let the Big Four
polluters off the hook? To be popular with delegates in Copenhagen or Paris?
By taking credit for absorption, we win. By negotiating a robust
cap-and-trade deal between nations, we win. By working with countries
that share our interests, we win. By getting the credit we deserve, and
ensuring that the planet’s real polluters pay their fair share, we win.
So, the question is, why do we let our leaders set Canada up to fail?
With a simple mandate from government to factor in the entire carbon
cycle, our best scientific minds can get to work assembling the evidence
to create an appropriate, progressive climate policy for Canada.
F. Larry Martin served as deputy minister to the premier of
Saskatchewan, and assistant deputy minister of rural development and
intergovernmental affairs in Manitoba. He is retired and lives in
Canmore, Alta.
_______________________________________________
Sustainablelorgbiofuel mailing list
Sustainablelorgbiofuel@lists.sustainablelists.org
http://lists.eruditium.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sustainablelorgbiofuel