Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2020-05-27 13:50
This question relates to another current emergency: the climate emergency.
This week it was reported that the concentration of greenhouse gases reached 417 parts per million. That’s not just unprecedented over thousands of years; that’s unprecedented over the last one million years. The temperatures in the Arctic broke 86°F, 30°C in the Arctic circle. The recognized parties in the House have established standing committees to work, but not the committee on the environment. We’ve asked for this in negotiations.
When will the recognized parties remember the June 2019 emergency resolution that we are in a climate emergency, and start making sure that we hit 2020 commitments under the Paris Agreement to improve our targets?
Hon. Marc Garneau (Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount)
2020-05-27 13:52
Mr. Chair, I appreciate my colleague’s questions. I will remind her that we have committed to net-zero emissions by 2050. We’ve also committed to surpassing the targets that we had originally set for 2030.
We realize that along with the COVID pandemic, which is the major problem that exists in the world today, there is another problem as well that affects the entire planet, and that is the problem associated with climate change. We remain committed to achieving those targets.