Updated with response from Environment Canada, and details of new assessments of Canada's INDC by other organisations.
Canada has submitted its intended contribution to the UN's forthcoming climate deal, but its new target has done little to remedy its reputation as a climate laggard.
On Friday, prime minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government pledged to cut emissions 30% on 2005 levels by 2030, as part of its intended nationally determined contribution (INDC) ahead of the 2015 agreement, which will be signed in Paris.
The document states:
"This target is ambitious but achievable. It represents a substantial reduction from Canada's business-as-usual emissions."
But the target prompted an outpouring of disappointment from NGOs, who say that the target compared unfavourably with other developed countries that have also submitted their contributions.
While the EU has pledged to reduce emissions 40% below 1990 levels, Canada's target actually represents a 6% increase if this is taken as the baseline.
Meanwhile the US has pledged a 26-28% reduction by 2025 on 2005 levels. Analysts from the World Resources Institute wrote:
For the complete article, please see CarbonBrief Blog.
Water is a matter of survival and plays a critical role in social, economic and environmental activities as well. With a rise in global demand for water, water crises have consistently featured among the World Economic Forum’s top global impact risks. Water insecurity, i.e., the lack of water availability for basic human needs and socio-economic development, undermines billions of livelihoods and poses significant risks for peace and prosperity by thwarting progress and fuelling displacement and conflict.
Limited access to energy is a significant barrier to development and holds back efforts to improve living conditions in developing and emerging economies. Around the world, 1.1 billion people still do not have access to electricity, and 2.8 billion still rely on animal and crop waste, wood, charcoal and other solid fuels to cook their food and heat their homes.
As the earth’s climate warms, people face mounting threats from rising seas, and more intense and frequent storms, heatwaves, fires, and droughts. When these events hit, people want to understand whether they are connected to climate change. Linking climate change with heatwaves, storms and other events can help us prepare for a changing world, argues Peter Stott.
A recent report by the UNEP focuses on addressing trade in wildlife and forest products across the three sectors of crime prevention and criminal justice, trade regulation and natural resource management. It finds that there is less focus on the legislative means for preventing offenses related to trade in wildlife and forest products and more attention on the means for detecting and punishing such offenses.