Vancouver Approves Giant Coal Export Facility on Eve of New Climate Deal
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- Published on Thursday, 17 December 2015 17:15
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Coal or Climate? Vancouver Approves Giant Coal Export Facility on Eve of New Climate Deal
Isn’t it ironic? A little too ironic?
On the very same day the UN climate summit kicked off in Paris, Vancouver’s port authority approved a cost-saving amendment allowing for the proposed Fraser Surrey Docks terminal to export massive amounts of thermal coal to Southeast Asia on ships rather than barges. The irony hasn’t been lost on environmental activists.
“It was just such a stark contradiction in the timing around this most recent approval where the port authority is improving a new thermal coal port on day one of global climate talks,” says Laura Benson, Dogwood Initiative’s Beyond Coal campaign director. “One foot’s going backwards into the 19th century and one foot’s trying to move ahead into a brighter future where we can fight climate change.” Read more.
“First Enlightenment, then the Laundry”: What the Paris Climate Agreement Means for Canada
If you’ve been watching headlines about the historic signing of the Paris Agreement this past weekend, you may be understandably confused.
Does the world’s first climate treaty represent the beginning of the end for fossil fuels or a mere free-market cop out?
Both arguments hold some truth. That’s because the agreement is more form, less substance. That’s what it was intended to be. The real meat of the deal remains entirely undetermined because it has yet to grow on the bones of the treaty. Read more.
All the Reasons the Paris Agreement is a Huge Freaking Deal for the Climate
The world collectively agreed to combat global warming with the signing of the first international climate treaty Saturday in Paris.
This is a historic moment. Breathe a sigh of relief everyone. This is good news.
It doesn’t mean the work is done — not by a long shot — and that’s surely something pundits, politicians, campaigners and scientists alike will go to great lengths to hammer home for the foreseeable future.r0
