OPINION | N.W.T. candidates, please don't dismiss our burning planet

This Opinion piece is written by Andrew Speakman, co-chair of N.W.T.'s Climate Youth Advisory Group.

In the year 2020, Northwest Territories' carbon emissions were only about 0.0021 per cent of the global total. For such a small amount of pollution, the N.W.T. can undoubtedly afford to continue its business-as-usual practices — right?

After all, why should the North make sacrifices if behemoth emitters like the U.S. and China aren't taking serious steps to address climate change? 

As many of the current MLA candidates for the 20th Legislative Assembly seem to be saying, we should focus on things that matter today, like housing, health and growing our economy. There are more pressing matters than a warming world. 

So grab your popcorn, humans of the N.W.T. We can watch the world burn together while we point fingers at other nations.

Too dramatic? Well then tell me, how was your forest fire evacuation? 

This summer, Canada doubled its 1989 record with 16.5 million hectares of land burned — an area  bigger than all of Greece — and a quarter of that land burned in the N.W.T. 

Fort Good Hope saw its hottest temperature on record. Much of the Tuktoyaktuk hamlet and most of Tuktoyaktuk Island will be lost to erosion by the year 2050. 

If you think things are bad now, this is just the beginning. 

We are en route to reaching a high enough global average temperature to trigger a cascade of devastating tipping points, like warming oceans, more extreme temperatures, and loss of biodiversity. 

Did you know that by as early as the year 2060, the N.W.T. mainland up to the Arctic ocean is predicted to be woodland instead of tundra?

How will these shifting landscapes affect the delicate species in the North? How will it affect food security? Will we soon be harvesting white-tailed deer around Yellowknife? Will there be anything to harvest around communities at all?

People say that climate action in the North is futile. I'll say that no single raindrop thinks it caused the flood.

Countries with low emissions around the world are already making tremendous sacrifices to halt fossil fuel investments and make the necessary transition to renewable energy. Bangladesh opted out of a $12-billion coal project. Places like Costa Rica, Norway and Quebec already draw over 98 per cent of their electricity from renewables. It's entirely possible for us to do the same. 

We need to start thinking about how the N.W.T.'s residents can flourish while being symbiotic with nature. How can we stay warm, be healthy and be happy while taking care of mother nature as she takes care of us? 

I'm not saying that N.W.T. residents need to have a kumbaya moment tonight, where we're all embracing each other, planning a garden, and reducing, reusing and recycling everything to save the world (as nice as that sounds). 

I'm just saying that we need to start planning for a warming climate now. Instead of running away from climate change, we can fight it. 

Our elected officials need to treat our socioeconomic issues and climate change as interwoven, and they must think beyond their four-year MLA terms. Planning for an advanced, healthy and net-zero-emissions future in the N.W.T. needs to start now. 

So, candidates, what are your ideas?

Want to write for CBC North? We welcome pitches for 500- to 700-word First Person essays or opinion pieces that may be of wide interest to our audience and you don't have to be a professional writer. Read more here or send your pitch to northfirstperson@cbc.ca.