April, 27 2009, 12:40pm EDT
Washington Climate Meeting Asked to Resist Special Treatment for Tar Sands
Environmental groups make their case to Ottawa-based embassies of world's major economies
TORONTO, Ontario
Environmental groups called on nations attending the meeting of the
Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate, starting today in
Washington, DC, to resist Canada's lobbying for special treatment for
Tar Sands emissions. A poster (at left) and cover letter [pdf] were mailed to the Ottawa-based embassies of participating countries.
"Canadians
expect climate leadership from their government, and not lobbying for
loopholes for Tar Sands polluters," said Matt Price, Program Manager
with Environmental Defence Canada. "Our government has an embarrassing
record of blaming other countries for our own failure to rein in oil
companies in the Tar Sands."
The Government of Canada has earned
heavy criticism for obstructing progress at recent climate talks in
Bali, Indonesia and Poznan, Poland. Most recently, the Harper
government has been seeking 'protection' for Tar Sands emissions in the
context of a proposed North American agreement on climate and energy.
"The Tar Sands are the fastest growing source of global warming pollution in Canada
and the reason for our country has a black eye on the world stage,"
said Gillian McEachern, Senior Energy Campaigner with ForestEthics. "We
are calling on world leaders to resist ploys for special treatment for
the Tar Sands."
U.S. movement towards a cap and trade system for
major polluters will force Canada to follow suit. The rules of that
system will be debated this year in advance of international climate
negotiations in Copenhagen in December. Should Canada design that
system to favour the Tar Sands, this could place an extra burden on
other sectors of the economy.
Founded in 2000, ForestEthics is a nonprofit environmental organization with staff in Canada, the United States and Chile. Our mission is to protect Endangered Forests and wild places, wildlife, and human wellbeing--one of our focus areas is climate change, which compromises all of our efforts if left unchecked. We catalyze environmental leadership among industry, governments and communities by running hard-hitting and highly effective campaigns that leverage public dialogue and pressure to achieve our goals.
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