Saturday, October 18, 2008

EU upholds climate plan despite financial turmoil

Europe has been hit harder and faster than Canada by the global financial meltdown. Yet the EU has just confirmed that their emissions-trading based plan on climate change will still go ahead.
"French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the 27-country European Union, said that despite some misgivings about the cost, 'climate change is so important that we cannot use the financial and economic crisis as a pretext for dropping it.'"
Central- and eastern-European countries that depend heavily on coal will get help from the other EU members.

In contrast, in Canada, faced with the fear of an oncoming recession, we've just reelected a Conservative government whose "intensity-based" climate change plan will not work. Both the Green Party/Liberal plan (carbon tax/income tax cuts plus emissions trading) and the NDP plan (just emissions trading) were defeated.

The EU's ambition on climate change is indeed "made of sterner stuff" (Shakespeare: Caesar). Canada has missed another chance to show the world some real leadership and resolve.

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