If We’ve Lost the Climate War, What’s Plan B?
Why a carbon tax won’t save us, and what’s next.
Canadian pundits and politicians are entertaining themselves over carbon taxes and heating oil, while environmentalists protest pipelines and missed emissions targets. They’re all wasting their breath — and our precious time.
The recently published “Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act — 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan” says, in its first sentence, “The federal government is not on track to meet the 2030 target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 per cent below the 2005 level by 2030.”
Even if we were on track, it wouldn’t matter. Global emissions will keep going up because no one else is on track to reduce their emissions either.
According to the Global Carbon Atlas, the world’s total carbon dioxide emissions in 2021 were 36,853 megatonnes. China was far and away the top emitter, with 11,336 megatonnes, more than twice the 5,032 megatonnes emitted by the United States. India was third in emissions, with 2,674 megatonnes, followed by Russia with 1,712 megatonnes.
Canada is well back in the pack at 11th place, with just 537 megatonnes of CO2 emitted.
