[All] Climate Change and TransMountain news

Mon Sep 2 00:23:45 EDT 2019

Hi folks
Lots of stuff happening these days but this update will focus on two topics:  Climate Change and the Trans Mountain pipeline. 
Re: CLIMATE CHANGE
Pope Speaks up on Climate Change
Pope Francis released a powerful statement today, part of World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. He wrote: 

Now is the time to abandon our dependence on fossil fuels and move, quickly and decisively, towards forms of clean energy and a sustainable and circular economy. Let us also learn to listen to indigenous peoples, whose age-old wisdom can teach us how to live in a better relationship with the environment.
This too is a season for undertaking prophetic actions. Many young people all over the world are making their voices heard and calling for courageous decisions. They feel let down by too many unfulfilled promises, by commitments made and then ignored for selfish interests or out of expediency. The young remind us that the earth is not a possession to be squandered, but an inheritance to be handed down. They remind us that hope for tomorrow is not a noble sentiment, but a task calling for concrete actions here and now. We owe them real answers, not empty words, actions not illusions.
Full document here: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/pont-messages/2019/documents/papa-francesco_20190901_messaggio-giornata-cura-creato.html?fbclid=IwAR1dEQnvCo83W1gsy_AlK4oxsWjuyES8Ua2yljNR2O_UaRtdNS1Sboj5mjQ

In addition to that he appointed 13 new Cardinals including people who advocated for climate action, migrant rights, programs to feed and shelter the poor etc. The one that stood out the most to me is  Canadian Jesuit Montreal native Michael Czerny, part of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, charged with writing the first draft of Laudato Si, the Pope's encyclical letter on the environment and climate change.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/vatican-pope-francis-cardinals-1.5267316?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar&fbclid=IwAR3NZo1uoqo-fpG05H9l1lLSsul3gX1kZNRhdXYTrzBqzZSqE4FMw9QX2sQ

CSIS US report on Climate Change. An excellent climate change report was written by Sarah Ladislaw, senior VP, director & senior fellow of the Energy and National Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. 
Full report is here https://www.csis.org/analysis/lessons-g7-why-we-need-new-era-climate-diplomacy?amp&__twitter_impression=true and some quick points from it are below. 

   - G7 countries spend over $1 trillion annually on post-tax subsidies to fossil fuels, or roughly 3 percent of their collective GDP. The United States alone spends $649 billion

   - Looking forward, research suggests climate change could reduce global economic output by anywhere from 7 to more than 20 percent by 2100. One study estimates that 3.7 degrees of warming could lead to as much as $551 trillion.

   - The difference between just 1.5 degree Celsius and 2 degree Celsius of warming has been estimated at 153 million more premature deaths from air pollution by the end of the century—40 percent of which would occur by 2060.

   - In 2019, the hottest year on record, the economic toll of global environmental disasters continues to grow, with the United States already experiencing six disasters costing in excess of a billion dollars—equal to the annual average since 1980.

   - The most glaring failed promise is, of course, the 2015 Paris Agreement, where only two countries have made commitments commensurate with its goals (Morocco and the Gambia) and several countries’ emissions are growing faster than before pledges were made.

   - The great irony of this moment is that neither economics nor technology stands in the way of making progress on this issue—it’s our politics.

   - On the one hand, right-wing nationalist leaders see the solutions to climate change as a threat to economic growth and impacts of climate change (particularly migration) as a threat to sovereignty and national identity. On the other hand, for left-wing populist movements, climate change is an existential threat. They see the solutions to climate change as a way to unseat dominant corporate interest, which could also serve as a platform to remedy persistent and structural inequality and advance social justice. 

   - Climate change is not a niche issue anymore; it is a clear threat to those long-term growth prospects.

   - The elephant in the room is that the US is renegotiating its role as an economic and security force in the world. Regardless of the Trump administration’s tactics, priorities, or execution, this is likely to be true of future administrations as well.

   - Climate change is a complex issue requiring a global response. Our political moment has changed, and so too should our approach to climate diplomacy. This will require heightened ambition coupled with genuine action. It also necessitates reframing familiar issues, such as trade and security, through the lens of climate change.

International Tool for Fighting Corruption
Climate Change and corruption are interlinked and the sooner we know how to fight corruption the better. The United Nations Convention against Corruption is the only legally binding universal anti-corruption instrument. They have an entire section on preventative strategies and this document can be handy to help frame concerns for various public processes. Here it is online: 

https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/treaties/CAC/

re: TRANSMOUNTAIN PIPELINE 

The Ever Increasing costs of Trans Mountain pipeline: Union of BC Chiefs
BC Chiefs are warning the public about the ever increasing costs of this project. The original cost estimate in the application by Kinder Morgan was 5.4 billion. In 2015 it increased to 6.8 billion. In 2017 it reached 7.8 billion, in 2018 it was 9.3 billion and currently the project by independent analysis is estimated to cost $15-20 Billion. 
https://www.straight.com/news/1233091/union-bc-indian-chiefs-issues-stark-warning-first-nations-about-investing-trans

TransMountain in service date now pushed back to late 2022
NEB recently ruled the following regarding a tunnel by Burnaby Mountian BC: 
Detailed route processes are in progress for the Project buthave not concluded for Segment 7.7.1 Therefore at this time Trans Mountain may not constructat the Westridge Portal site.
Full NEB ruling is online at: https://apps.cer-rec.gc.ca/REGDOCS/Item/View/3817557
After Dec. 2019 costs go way up! 
This article from 2017 shows if the December 2019 start date is pushed back, the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline stands to lose between $30 - $35 million each month. 
https://www.burnabynow.com/news/news-story-of-the-year-kinder-morgan-pipeline-1.23131808
Creative Petition re: Trans Mountain pipeline
50,631 people have signed a petition asking the insurer of the TransMountain pipeline to drop it's coverage. https://www.citynews1130.com/2019/08/31/50000-sign-petition-asking-insurer-to-drop-trans-mountain-pipeline/

That's it for now folks. 
Lulu :0) 

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