Trudeau Approval of Tar Sands Pipeline, Say Critics, Would Make 'Absolute Mockery' of Climate Emergency Declaration Approved Less Than 24 Hours Ago

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By Jake Johnson, Common Dreams. Originally posted on Common Dreams,ย CC BYSAย 3.0

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday isย reportedly expectedย to approve a $5.5 billion expansion of the Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline, a move environmentalists warned would make an โ€œabsolute mockeryโ€ of the House of Commons’ย vote to declare a climate emergencyย just hoursย earlier.

The vote Monday night made Canada theย third nationย to declare a national climate emergency, but critics said purely rhetorical acknowledgements of the planetary crisis are meaningless without concreteย action.

โ€œIt’s great that more countries and regions are doing this,โ€ tweeted 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg after the vote. โ€œBut remember: The fossil fuels must stay in the ground. Forget ‘climate neutral’ and clever accounting. Our emissions must start their way to zero.ย Now.โ€

Trudeau’s governmentย purchased the Trans Mountain pipeline from Kinder Morganย for $4.5 billion last May, sparking outrage from environmental groups and indigenousย tribes.

Critics warned that approval of the pipeline expansion would represent a major blow to efforts slash carbon emissions to avert disastrousย warming.

As theย Washington Postย reported, the Trans Mountain expansion project โ€œwould nearly triple the amount of Canadian crude oil the pipeline transports each day from Edmonton, Alberta, to the port in Burnaby, B.C., to be loaded onto tankers bound for Asia and other lucrativeย markets.โ€

Cam Fenton, communications and strategy manager for 350.org Canada,ย tweetedย that the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion is โ€œout of line with a plan to meet a 1.5ยฐC warming limitโ€ by the end of theย century.

In aย reportย published last October, the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned that warming beyond 1.5ยฐC could spark a global and โ€œirreversibleโ€ climateย catastrophe.

In aย statementย ahead of Trudeau’s decision, the Green Party of British Columbia said approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion would beย โ€œreckless.โ€

โ€œAs elected leaders, we must act immediately and with courage to make the urgent transition away from fossil fuels and toward a clean, sustainable economy,โ€ the statement read. โ€œWe can make the changes demanded of us and create widespread prosperity as we do so. Canada’s global reputation, and the future we leave for our children, are on theย line.โ€

Main image:ย Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during aย U.S.ย visit in 2016.ย Credit:ย Joshua Dewberry/U.S.ย Air Force,ย publicย domain

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