The UK's Ruling Conservatives Abandon Climate Change Leadership

Despite recent historic flooding in the UK, the British government's March 19 budget confirmed that it is all but abandoning efforts to combat climate change. The writing was on the wall with the appointment of Owen Paterson as environment secretary in 2012.

Owen Paterson

UK Conservatives sent a powerful message when Owen William Paterson was appointed Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs in 2012. Despite his moderate climate change voting record, he is a climate change skeptic, who is resistant to the science. He ignored David MacKay's offer of a briefing on climate change science.

Report Urges Canada's Federal Conservatives to Regulate Oil and Gas Sector to Meet GHG Targets

The Pembina Institute is calling for Canada's ruling Conservatives to regulate the oil and gas industry so that the country can meet its greenhouse gases (GHGs) targets. According to a Tuesday April 2, 2013, report from the non-profit environmental group significant GHG reductions from the oil and gas sector are necessary if Canada is to meet its emissions commitments.

As it stands at present Canada is far from being able to meet its 2020 GHG targets which stipulate a 17 percent reduction from a 2005 baseline (equivalent to 113 million tonnes). In 2012, Environment Canada indicated that the country was not on track to meet its GHG targets.

Canada is Increasingly One of the World's Worst GHG Emitters

Although Canada has a population of only 30 million people, it is one of the world's worst greenhouse gas emitters. Sadly, under the leadership of Stephen Harper's Conservative government this trend is only getting worse.

Canada Officially Withdraws from the Kyoto Protocol

Although it was widely expected, one day after the conclusion of COP 17 in Durban, Stephen Harper's Conservatives formally withdrew from the world's only climate change combating global treaty. December 12,2011 will be remebered as the day Canada withdrew from the Kyoto Accord. Environment Minister Peter Kent made the announcement that Canada would be the first nation to withdraw from the Accord.