A call to action for our planet, and for our loved ones!

by Sustainable Energy Group, Carleton County, NB
(version française)

The warming climate is a planetary emergency resulting in unwanted health impacts, with financial and economic costs that will soon have devastating repercussions.

2018 NB Flood, Kingston Peninsula. Image © 2018 copyright Liane Thibodeau

In November 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a special report issuing a challenge for all humanity. Unless fossil fuel use is reduced 50 percent by 2030 and 100 per cent by mid-century, climate chaos could destroy the underpinnings of civilization, including agriculture and the food system, coastal communities, ocean productivity, and the global economy.

This urgent challenge confronts all people, regardless of their beliefs or political affiliation.

Climate experts warn for Earth to remain habitable for humans the global temperature must not exceed 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels. But the planet is still on track to reach between 2 to 4-plus degrees Celsius (3.6 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century, which would be a catastrophe for humanity

The Pioneer Fire, Boise National Forest, Idaho, 2016. (Forest Service photo by Kari Greer)

The growing numbers of emergency events linked to global warming include huge forest fires and the thawing of Arctic permafrost both of which release vast quantities of CO2, the melting of glaciers and polar ice leading to sea level rise and loss of drinking water, invasive species impacting the local environment, massive rainfalls and increased floods, prolonged droughts, ocean acidification and more frequent severe storms around the world. This emergency, if not effectively addressed now, will severely impact human well-being and economic life.

Climatologists and climate scientists have been issuing increasingly stern warnings, yet the majority of politicians continue to pretend things are under control. They continue to advocate for business as usual with “responsible resource development” and a “balanced approach” to combating climate change so they can continue to profit.

With a federal election coming on October 21st, Canadians have an ideal opportunity to make the climate emergency an issue that can no longer be disregarded. Likewise, Americans will have the same opportunity November 3rd, 2020.

Mark Carney, the Bank of England Governor, warns that businesses that fail to adapt to climate change will go bust. “Companies that don’t adapt – including companies in the financial system – will go bankrupt without question…What the capitalist system needs to do is to manage the risks around climate change and be ready for the different speeds of the adjustment.”

What’s required is the rapid decarbonization of the world’s economy. New Brunswick, Canada, and the entire world MUST mobilize quickly to substantially lower greenhouse gas emissions by switching to the low carbon economy with clean, renewable energy. This will create far more new and lasting jobs than the fading fossil fuel economy can provide.

At stake is the future for the coming generations and perhaps the very existence of the human civilization on planet Earth.

We must act upon the climate emergency with the same determination and speed that was mobilized for World War II. What will you do now to help preserve a livable planet for future generations?

Please consider doing the following:

• Share this call to action with all your contacts, particularly educators and clergy, or anyone in a position of influence and power.
• Ask your provincial and federal politicians and candidates for political office in Canada for their position on the “climate emergency.” Americans can do the same for state and national candidates in the U.S. in 2020.
• Vote only for candidates who present a clear plan for addressing the climate emergency.
• Continually seek ways to lower your own carbon footprint.

Present and future generations will thank you for your help!

—-

The Sustainable Energy Group of Carleton County, NB is a member of the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance.