Climate change
- Défi Climat: Citizens and Businesses United
- Trailbreaker, the Battle Against Development of Tar Sands
- 14th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan
- Global Campaign on the Climate
The gathering in Poznan, Poland, marked the beginning of the home stretch for international negotiations to establish new greenhouse gas reduction goals for 2013-2020 (post-Kyoto period). Recent scientific observations show that global warming is following our most pessimistic scenario. The urgency for action no longer needs to be demonstrated. Équiterre is engaged in building awareness in Québec, Canada and around the world to help behaviours change… faster than the climate does.
In Québec and Canada
Défi Climat: Citizens and Businesses United
Équiterre was one of the architects of this unprecedented movement of Montrealers to combat climate change. Involving nearly 130 businesses and organizations, the Climate Challenge campaign has prompted more than 100,000 workers to change their behaviour and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Twenty-five thousand people committed to do something for the planet, relieving the atmosphere of the equivalent of more than 26,000 tons of CO2 every year!
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Trailbreaker, the Battle Against Petroleum Obtained from Tar Sands
The petroleum development of tar sands is criticized for the environmental damage it inflicts, including massive emissions of greenhouse gases. Motivated by historically high prices for a barrel of oil, the Enbridge energy company has created the Trailbreaker project, which would incorporate Québec into the tar sands oil distribution and refining chain—an absurd idea in the current climate situation.
Équiterre and its environmental partners have rallied citizens and informed political decision-makers in Québec and Canada to prevent the Trailbreaker project from being approved. Équiterre believes this struggle is part of a more global vision to reduce oil dependency, a major issue in the coming years in the battle to stop climate change.
International
14th United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznan (COP14)
What targets and greenhouse gas reduction methods will nations around the world implement in the years 2013 to 2020? From December 1 to 12, in Poznan, Poland, delegates from 190 nations and groups of nations set the stage for negotiations for a post-Kyoto accord in 2009. Various lobbies with diverse interests—sometimes conflicting with appeals from the scientific community—take an active part in these meetings, which is why the action taken during the event by hundreds of environmental organizations is so important.
Two representatives from Équiterre took part in negotiations at COP14 (which stands for 14th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change), where Europe raised the bar for greenhouse gas reduction; China, Brazil and other emerging economies demonstrated a sincere desire to confront the problem; and the delegates from Canada… displayed a stubbornness that is increasingly alienating the country and earned it the title “fossil of the year” for its regressive positions. In association with other environmental organizations, Équiterre intends to rally all necessary resources for the Copenhagen conference in December 2009 so that Canada and the rest of the world can fulfil humanity’s hopes and agree on unconditional targets for greenhouse has reduction.
Global Campaign on Climate
Created in 2007 by Équiterre, the Montréal-based Secrétariat international de mobilisation sur le climat brings together national and international NGOs. An Executive Director was appointed in 2008 and financial support was acquired from major European foundations so that it could broaden its mission to inform and enlist citizens around the world. The group especially supports awareness campaigns in many countries where resources are inadequate, such as India, Poland, Brazil and Japan.