Dirty Canada Wins More Fossils at Copenhagen

NGOs have been shining a light on the dirty secret of the Canadian Tar Sands in Copenhagen. Climate Action Network gave Canada two more fossils at the climate conference for obstructing the talks and for twisting the science.

In a separate event, the online Stupid Show (hosted by Age of Stupid filmmaker Franny Armstrong), ranked Canada second last in the world in its Copenhagen Sprint.

The sprint ranks countries by the amount of effort they are putting into getting a climate change deal. Only Saudi Arabia has done less to reach a strong agreement (or perhaps that should read done more to obstruct an agreement).

Here's what the Climate Action Network said about Canada when giving out its Fossil Awards:

SECOND PLACE: CANADA
Canada’s chief negotiator insisted in a briefing this morning that his country’s target of -3% below 1990 are, in fact, based on science. The price quote–in answer to a question, was: “Yes, Canada’s targets are science-based. Absolutely, yes.”

Last we checked, the IPCC scientific community called for 25-40% emission reductions below 1990 levels. The Fossil Supreme Command Council can only conclude that he wasn’t referring to climate science at all, but rather the science of mathematics–because -3% is, indeed, a number. (Although a very small one.) Speaking of math, Canada already promised in the Kyoto Protocol to go to -6% from 1990 levels. Oops!

Further, when the chief negotiator was asked this morning if he believed Canada’s so called “science based-target” would protect melting summer sea-ice in the North West passage, he responded quite accurately that he is not a scientist and therefore cannot predict sea-ice. Canada, here’s a piece of science you can understand: you’ve won the second place Fossil Award.

FIRST PLACE: CANADA
It doesn’t get much clearer than this: Canada’s Environment Minister, Jim Prentice, said yesterday that, quote, “it’s in Canada’s interests to replace the Kyoto Protocol with a new agreement.” He didn’t explain whether that’s because he’s scared to face Kyoto’s compliance committee

It also appears that Canada’s environment minister is suffering a serious case of CAN envy. Yesterday, he invented his own prize, the Hot Air of the Day Award, and tried to give it to a Canadian environmental group. It’s a true honor to be recognized for hot air by this government, the world’s acknowledged masters in that area. But even though imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, we’d be even more flattered if you actually signed on to a fair, ambitious, and binding deal instead of trying to wriggle free of the climate promises you’ve already made and broken.