What Is Canada Doing on Climate Change? 3 Victories and 3 Obstacles globalcitizen.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from globalcitizen.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
20 April 2021 11:40 GMT Updated 20 April 2021 12:47 GMT
OPINION: Key parts of the oil and gas industry have signaled their determination to play their part in trying to meet the Paris climate goals.
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Those at the forefront of change such as Shell, Equinor, BP and Eni are gradually stepping up investment in renewable power.
They are also relying on significant use of carbon “offsets” to meet the net-zero emissions targets they are setting themselves.
Tree-planting initiatives
The European oil majors are not alone. Aviation and industrial sectors are using carbon credits while they wait for cleaner fuels to hit the market.
But he should be commended for having moved his party beyond its opposition to consumer carbon pricing.
Accusations are already being made by erstwhile fellow travellers like the Canadian Taxpayers’ Federation that he has betrayed those who believed his leadership pledge that he would repeal the Liberal carbon tax.
But O’Toole also knows that his future was bleak if he did not adapt to a political environment in which a credible climate change plan is a pre-requisite for any party with ambitions of government.
He may still be doomed. But this plan gives him a fighting chance in vote-rich provinces like Ontario. The Conservatives elected 73 MPs in the province, with 44.4 per cent of the vote in 2011. But the party’s share of the vote fell to 35 per cent (33 MPs) in 2015 and again to 33 per cent (36 MPs) in 2019. It was no coincidence that concerns over climate change were waxing as Conservative fortunes waned.