roberta keystone speech

8/9/2019 Roberta Keystone Speech

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It’s impossible to talk about the discourse surrounding the building of the

Keystone XL or the Northern Gateway or any other major pipeline project without

talking about the Alberta il !ands" and it’s impossible to talk about the Alberta

il !ands without talking about #anada’s role in #limate #hange negotiations$

#anada was once recogni%ed as the doer of good deeds" the peacekeeper" the

diplomat$ In the past" #anada has played all of these roles$

In &''(" )rime *inister !tephen +arper stood before a group of #anadian and ,K

businessmen and declared #anada -a global energy powerhouse" the emerging

energy superpower$. In that moment" he was poised to remake #anada’s image /

and remake it he has$

At international negotiation after international negotiation" #anada has impeded

mo0ement on climate action$ In &''1" #anada was accused of blocking a

resolution calling for binding climate change targets at the #ommonwealth summit

in ,ganda$ A year later at climate talks in )oland" #anada was again accused of

obstructing progress on an agreement that would set targets for de0eloped

countries$ 2uring the &''3 #openhagen talks" the +arper go0ernment endorsed the

scientifically agreed upon & degree limit to global warming$ 4ut in spite of its

endorsement" #anada was the only country to lea0e #openhagen with a weakened

emissions reduction target$ 5hat target commits #anada to reducing its G+G

emissions by 617 from &''8 le0els by &'&'$ +owe0er a recent emissions report

shows we will be far short of reaching e0en this reduced target$ It goes without

saying that #anada was the first country to formally withdraw from the Kyoto

)rotocol$

9n0ironment *inister Leona Aglukka: has said about global treaties;


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it’s just not fair$. 4ut to me this is misleading and disingenuous$ ,pon returning

from 2urban" a member of the #anadian >outh 2elegation said this; -5he

#anadian Go0ernment’s inaction has led to it being constantly singled out as a

laggard and e0en a pariah in these negotiations$ 5hey’0e made our countryirrele0ant to the ,nited Nations’ efforts to combat climate change$.

#anada has been labeled -ca0alier$. #anadians ha0e been accused of -negotiating

in bad faith$. ur country’s performance at climate talks led the Guardian to claim

that #anada -is now to climate what ?apan is to whaling$.

@e know that there is o0erwhelming international scientific agreement that we are

headed for global catastrophe if we don’t limit the planet’s warming to & degrees"

e0en international go0ernments ha0e agreed to this number" and we ha0e heard

from a number of international organi%ations on the importance of limiting

emissions$ In &'6&" the president of the @orld 4ank" ?im >ong Kim" announced;

-A degree warmer world can and must be a0oided$ @e need to hold warming below

& degrees$ Lack of action on climate change threatens to make the world our

children inherit a completely different world than we are li0ing in today$.

5he )rime *inister himself has said that climate change is -perhaps the biggest

threat to confront the future of humanity$. 9ight years ago" he promised -a

national system of regulations for the control of greenhouse gas emissions and air

pollution$. And for years his go0ernment has been promising regulations for the

oil and gas sector$ 5wo years ago" then 9n0ironment *inister )eter Kent said his

go0ernment was -0ery close to finali%ing regulations for the oil and gas sector$.

4ut then late last year" )rime *inister +arper eBplained that gi0en the current

circumstances" -we are clearly not going to do it$. ur go0ernment’s messages

ha0e been erratic and inconsistent to say the least$


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Is this miBed messaging a sign of purposeful obfuscation or is it run=of=the=mill

political eBpedience" or is this the inertia displayed by a go0ernment that is unable

to reconcile its neoliberal bias with the necessity for global and domestic actionC

)art of the reason for #anada’s perpleBing beha0iour is that our go0ernment has

-bet the bank. on fossil fuels$ It has no -)lan 4$. 5he go0ernment is desperate to

sell the bitumen from the Alberta il !ands because it has no other strategy" and in

order to sell Alberta’s bitumen" it needs to get it out of the pro0ince$

5his is at the heart of the go0ernment’s push for pipeline construction$ Alberta’s

past Dinance *inister" Eon Liepert" said it best; -If we don’t get mo0ing on these

pipeline projects" our greatest risk in Alberta is that by &'&'" we will be

landlocked in bitumen$. 4ut here’s the thing" not e0en a month ago a research

study published in the journal Nature found that if the world wishes to stay below

the & degree ceiling" the most efficient plan includes -negligible. production

within the oil sands by &'&'$

According to 2r$ Andrew @ea0er" at the time a leading climatologist with the

I)##" -5he tar sands remain the largest source of G+G emission growth in

#anada and are the single largest reason #anada is failing to meet its international

climate commitments and failing to be a climate leader$. As the world has become

more willing and e0en eager to deal with climate change" #anada has become less

so$

5he Keystone XL )ipeline could transport F'"''' barrels of oil to the ,! e0ery

day" leading the )rime *inister to call the pipeline’s appro0al a -no brainer$. +e

has e0en called out the ,! president on the appro0al process; -*y 0iew is you

don’t take no for an answer$. @ell" you can’t just force a so0ereign nation to bend

to your will$ And while it my just be political posturing" it seems like poor


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diplomacy$ !ince then bama has stated :uite clearly that Keystone XL pipeline

would only be appro0ed if it does not" -significantly eBacerbate the problem of

climate change$. @ith leading climatologist" ?ames +ansen" declaring that

continued de0elopment of the oil sands means -game o0er for the climate". itseems difficult to imagine bama allowing the pipeline to go through on his

watch$

If the Keystone )ipeline is not appro0ed" will that mean the end of the Alberta il

!andsC Likely not" there’s still the Northern Gateway and the 9nergy 9ast projects

on the table / and there will be others$ In simpler times maybe we could ha0e

de0eloped the oil sands with impunity" but climate change threatens the health of

our entire biosphere$ It threatens ocean acidification" se0erely reduced agricultural

producti0ity" mass eBtinction$ #limate change threatens ci0ili%ation itself$ 5hese

are big issues we’re dealing with$ In !tephen +arper’s own words -the biggest

threat to confront the future of humanity$.

+ere at home in Alberta" we face some difficult decisions" decisions that must be

reached through honest and open dialogue$ bfuscation and bullying will not help

us through this process$ 5alking around climate change will not help us either$ @e

must be truthful in our approach$ @e need to allow all 0oices to be heard / not

just those in positions of power$ @e re:uire a process that allows us to come to

rational" but creati0e" constructi0e decisions" and we ha0e not seen that yet in this

pro0ince or in this country$

roberta keystone speech

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