As international leaders gather in Lima for the 20th session of the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 20), Canada’s abysmal record on climate change will again be put under the microscope.
Policy makers from over 195 countries will work together until December 12th to negotiate a legally binding climate change agreement which will replace the Kyoto Protocol. The agreement should be signed next year in Paris at COP 21. Click here for an overview of the topics to be discussed.
While our neighbours and allies are taking steps toward phasing out fossil fuels and investing in renewable energies, the Harper Conservatives have yet to take a single significant action to mitigate climate change…in over nine years in power. Let’s hope our Environment Minister, Leona Agglukkaq, will wake up and smell the coffee amongst her peers in Peru, and finally step up with climate action.
CUPE has an important role to play in tackling climate change and promoting sustainable development. Equipped with our new environmental policy, we’re working with our partners in the labour movement to engage our members and pressure governments to take action.
Over the next two weeks we will take a closer look at what’s happening in Lima and what Canada should be doing at home to protect our environment and secure natural resources for future generations.