Canada Convinces Commonwealth To Do Nothing About Global Warming

onNov 24, 2007 @ 09:17 PST

After a round of talks this week amongst the 52 Commonwealth nations, member states have agreed to do nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The so-called “Lake Victoria Commonwealth Climate Change Plan” points out the seriousness of the earth warming but recommends no targets or time-lines for tackling greenhouse gas reduction.

In other words, they recognize that global warming will cause mass hardship for most species on the planet, yet as world leaders they are not willing to actually do anything.

Prior to the talks this week, most of the member states were in agreement that binding targets and clear timelines were necessary in any new climate plan. However, the sole holdout in the agreement moving forward was the right-wing Canadian government under the direction of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

In the past Canada’s Harper has described the Kyoto Protocol as “a socialist scheme that will destroy jobs.” This despite polls in Canada showing the number one concern for Canadians being the environment and in particular, climate change.

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By Kevin Grandia

Kevin is a contributor and strategic adviser to DeSmogBlog.

He runs the digital marketing agency Spake Media House. Named a “Green Hero” by Rolling Stone Magazine and one of the “Top 50 Tweeters” on climate change and environment issues, Kevin has appeared in major news media outlets around the world for his work on digital campaigning.

Kevin has been involved in the public policy arena in both the United States and Canada for more than a decade. For five years he was the managing editor of DeSmogBlog.com. In this role, Kevin’s research into the “climate denial industry” and the right-wing think tank networks was featured in news media articles around the world. He is most well known for his ground-breaking research into David and Charles Koch’s massive financial investments in the Republican and tea party networks.

Kevin is the first person to be designated a “Certified Expert” on the political and community organizing platform NationBuilder.

Prior to DeSmogBlog, Kevin worked in various political and government roles. He was Senior Advisor to the Minister of State for Multiculturalism and a Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Asia Pacific, Foreign Affairs for the Government of Canada. Kevin also worked in various roles in the British Columbia provincial government in the Office of the Premier and the Ministry of Health.

In 2008 Kevin co-founded a groundbreaking new online election tool called Vote for Environment which was later nominated for a World Summit Award in recognition of the world’s best e-Content and innovative ICT applications.

Kevin moved to Washington, DC in 2010 where he worked for two years as the Director of Online Strategy for Greenpeace USA and has since returned to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada.