Yukon's progress on climate change 'underwhelming', say critics
'What are we doing to prevent more climate change?' NDP leader asks
Critics are calling the Yukon government's new progress report on its 2009 Climate Change Action Plan a disappointment.
The government this week issued a 47-page update on its progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and tackling other issues related to climate change. The report was notable for its lack of data on key measurements of greenhouse gas emissions and fuel use.
NDP leader Liz Hanson called the document "underwhelming."
"It's great to see that we're talking about recognizing that [thawing] permafrost is going to have and does have increasingly serious implications for how we design our roads and build our buildings," Hanson said.
"We also need to fundamentally question — what are we doing to prevent more climate change, to stop that very rapid increase in our temperature in the North?"
Anne Midler of the Yukon Conservation Society said there is a disconnect between the government's desire to show that it takes climate change seriously, and its efforts to develop an oil and gas sector.
"We need to be moving towards a zero-carbon economy, a zero-carbon society," Midler said. She and Hanson both argue the government should invest in the green energy sector.
"It's not going to hurt our economy. It's going to create a new economy that we haven't seen here yet in the Yukon, but we need to take advantage of it, and fast," Midler said.
Both Midler and Hanson hope that Paris climate talks now underway will inspire the territorial government toward more aggressive action on climate change.