OAG Environment Report: Prudent to act quickly on climate change

The 2006 Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development was released yesterday, September 28, 2006.  The Commissioner is part of the Office of the Auditor General.

Here is The Commissioner's Perspective:

Climate Change is Upon Us

The Earth is warming, triggering dramatic changes in climate and weather systems around the world. Climate scientists overwhelmingly agree that carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" released by human activities are generally to blame. Climate change is a global problem with global consequences: The implications are profound. Experts say we need to act quickly and effectively. I believe this is the prudent thing to do.

As well:

• Canada is not on track to meet its obligations to reduce emissions
• Canada is not adequately prepared to adapt to the effects of climate change
• The federal government's efforts are not well organized and not well managed

For those of you outside (or inside) Canada to who may think this report will lead to immediate government action: it almost certainly won't.  The previous government claimed to be concerned about the issue, but did nothing.  Now, Prime Minister Harper is quoted in Le Devoir as saying "It is hard to predict what the weather will be like in a week, or even a day, never mind in a few decades."  Climate change is a "complex, evolving subject," he added. (From the Ottawa Citizen, "Made-in-Canada excuses", September 29, 2006.)

Politics, on the other hand, is a simple subject, which is easy to predict: follow the money to the corporate backers and madmen, who will dictate policies that defy scientific reality as long as such policies appeal to short-sighted greed or far-sighted fanaticism.

Previously:

September 08, 2006  Economist survey on climate change plus
August 20, 2006  the climate change debate in Canada
August 10, 2006  old photos and records provide climate data
April 22, 2006  Tim Flannery on climate change, and other Ottawa Earth Day writers