If you were doing worse on climate action than Russia and the United States after eight years of Bush's environmental policies, you'd know you had a problem. So it looks like Canada has a bit of a problem, because in this new report, which ranks the G8 countries based on climate initiatives, Canada came last. Last. (Germany, of course, came first.)Under the Kyoto Protocol, Canada promised it would level its emissions to 6 percent below 1990 levels by 2012. They're apparently not doing so hot. Two years ago, CO2 emissions were more than 25 percent higher than they were in 1990, which gives them just a few years to make a serious dent in current rates. "Nowhere else on Earth do fewer people steward more resources, yet Canada now stands dead last amongst the G8 Nations in protecting our shared home from the threat of dangerous climate change," said Keith Stewart, Director of WWF-Canada's Climate Change Campaign. "Canada's future lies in creating green jobs on a living planet, not in becoming the energy sweatshop for the world."Oof. I'll be honest and say that even though I grew up in Canada, I don't closely follow its environmental policy, though everyone knows there's been leadership issues there for some time. Still, this is shocking, not only because of Canada's reputation for progressive policies, but also because (and I'm speaking anecdotally here), most of the Canadians I know live and breathe environmentally and socially responsible behavior.Here's hoping this is the kick in the pants in needs to get its act in order leading up to Copenhagen.
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