Climate Change: The Time Is Now

Submitted by Mary Simon on Tue, 2009-10-27 16:00

On Saturday October 24, 2009 millions of people worldwide took part in an estimated 4,000 events held in 170 countries to send the message to world governments that action on climate change is needed now.

The concern Canadians have for this issue, and how it will affect future generations of people, is impressive. In growing numbers Canadians are becoming more and more insistent in their demands for significant Canadian action on climate change. In the dwindling number of days before COP-15 the importance of sending these messages cannot be understated.

In Canada the protests stretched from Vancouver to Halifax. In Ottawa hundreds of people braved a wet and windy day to gather on Parliament Hill calling for our government to take concrete measures to address Canadian contributions to greenhouse gas emissions, in Vancouver a reported 5,000 people marched across the Cambie Street bridge to draw attention to climate change issues, and in Edmonton a group of approximately 80 people staged a “die-in” on the steps of the Alberta Legislature.

On Saturday October 24th, I was in Stockholm, Sweden, speaking to the international community at the 2009 European Development Days conference. My message, on behalf of Inuit, and indeed all Canadians, was the same, we need significant action now.

It is, I believe, safe to say that the international climate change discussions have taken too long - the negative effects of climate change are already being experienced by a growing number of people.

To address this reality I also called upon the G-20 to create a $20-billion climate change adaptation fund to assist people in different parts of the world - including the Inuit of the Arctic who are at the front lines of Climate Change and facing the impacts directly.

Recently our government said that the chances of a global accord to address climate change do not look good, we, and other Canadians, cannot accept that outlook. The consequences of failure are too great to consider, and Canada must not go into the COP15 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December with anything but workable solutions for a concrete plan that will begin to mitigate the effects of rapidly accelerating climate change. We call upon the government of Canada to demonstrate international leadership, not only for the planet, but also in the interest of the people who live in Canada’s Arctic.