A local climate change lobbyist and the MP for Wellington-Halton Hills are among those urging the federal government to meet its environmental commitments in light of a new report on global warming.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its fifth report on Oct. 26.
The report states that if world leaders fail to take action, food shortages, refugee crises, major flooding and the mass extinction of plants and animals will be among the results.
The report also states the costs associated with mitigation action such as shifting to solar and wind power and other renewable sources and improving energy efficiency would reduce economic growth by only 0.06 per cent annually, a cost it says should be measured against the implications of doing nothing and putting “all species that live on this planet” at peril.
“The message was clear – we must cut emissions significantly, and it is economically sound to do so. Canada, so far, has not come close to doing our part,” Liz Armstrong, a leader of the Canadian Climate Change Lobby chapter in the Town of Erin, said in an email to the Advertiser.
MP Michael Chong reacted to the report in a Nov. 3 statement in the House of Commons, noting the IPCC was “clear and unequivocal” in concluding the planet is warming due to emissions.
“The report also concludes that without urgent action to reduce emissions, by the end of this century there is a high risk of severe, widespread, and irreversible damage due to extreme heat waves, more intense weather events, mass extinctions, coastal flooding, and crop failures,” Chong stated.
“The scientists have done their work, now we must do ours. As a Conservative, I believe that we have a moral obligation to conserve our environment.
“I call upon this government to meet its commitment to reduce emissions and I call on all governments meeting next month in Lima, Peru, and next year in Paris, France, to work together toward a new global treaty to reduce emissions.”
