December 16, 2009
Local take on Copenhagen talks
George T. Baker
Prince Rupert Daily News; with files from Canadian Press
Rising sea levels and disappearing salmon are two unwanted gifts that global warming may give to the North Coast. And as environment delegates meet in Denmark, Prince Rupert and Canada are divided on the issue.
For instance, California Governor Arnold Swarzenegger’s vaunted Western Climate Initiative has brought several US states and Canadian provinces on board, but none of the petrol states or provinces such as Texas and Alberta.
B.C. was one of the first regions to sign on. Premier Gordon Campbell will be in the Danish capital this week to present to delegates the provincial government’s actions, such as the carbon tax and its role as the first Canadian government to sign on to the Western Climate Initiative.
Speaking for the provincial government, Climate Action-Minister of State John Yap told the Daily News that the premier was attending the conference at the request of the federal government.
“We are a federation of provinces and while we do have a national government in Canada that is the lead, Environment Minister Jim Prentice invited the province to attend along with other provinces,” said Yap. “B.C. in particular has taken aggressive action as a province. We made a decision a few years ago that we wanted to be a leader in reducing our carbon emissions. We have a great story to tell.”
Other Canadian WCI partners are getting frustrated with the federal government.
In Denmark on Sunday for the United Nations climate convention, Quebec Premier Jean Charest and Ontario Environment Minister John Gerretsen condemned the federal government for the potential economic consequences of its anemic fight against climate change.
“We want fairness,” said Gerretsen.
The Harper government aims to lower Canada’s emissions 20 per cent from 2006 levels by 2020. The U.S. recently put forward a similar goal. The B.C. government aims to reduce BC greenhouse gas emissions by at least 33 per cent from 2007 levels by 2020.
But as discussion moves forward to see if global environment ministers can hammer out some sort of effective agreement, the issue of global climate change is a significant one for Prince Rupert.
A report released in late 2008 by the provincial government claimed that Prince Rupert would experience rising sea levels by 2100.
Projected Sea Level Changes for British Columbia in the 21st Century reports that the coastal waters would rise one metre above their current levels, meaning danger for infrastructure around the city.
That report was backed by earlier reports that Prince Rupert, since development, has already seen water levels rise in its deep harbour.
According to the Canadian Climate Impacts and Adaptation Research Network, a federal government-UBC initiative disbanded by the Conservative government in 2007, the sea level at Vancouver rose four centimetres, at Victoria eight centimetres and at Prince Rupert 12 centimetres between 1909 and 1999.
“These changes are actually lower than the global average due to the offsetting effect of isostatic rebound and tectonic movement in the region.
While many coastal regions in BC are too steep and rocky to be seriously affected by sea level rise, some areas such as Prince Rupert, the low lying Fraser Delta and some Aboriginal heritage sites will all face greater risks of flooding, the group predicted.
And as sea levels rise, salmon stocks plummet.
Last week, a scientific think tank reported that food-poor, predator-rich ocean waters caused by climate change likely played a significant role in decimating millions of sockeye salmon in British Columbia’s Fraser River ahead of what was supposed to be a bumper year.
A group of more than 20 ocean and ecology experts gathered in Vancouver this week to discuss possible explanations for this year’s salmon collapse and announced their assessment on Wednesday, saying they want to keep the issue afloat with a judicial inquiry approaching.
All of this talk is getting some people in the North dead tired about it all – sort of.
About 15 college-aged residents of Prince George performed a Die-In in northeast MP Jay Hill’s office. Organizer Nadia Nowack told the Daily News that global warming and climate change is just not being taken seriously enough in her city.
“In the north we are more dependent on the natural resource industry rather than Vancouver,” said Nowack.
In a Die-In, the youth laid on the ground with tombstones reading “We Will Not Die Silently” and singing “Give youth a Chance”, adopted from John Lennon’s “Give Peace A chance.”
“We were targeting Jay Hill because he is a Conservative MP and he had been blocking the Climate Change Accountability Act. Essentially we were asking all MPs to commit to pressure the federal government to be a leader in Copenhagen,” said Nowack.
In Prince Rupert, there have been no “Die-Ins” in the local MP’s office. That doesn’t mean there isn’t some concern.
Barb Faggetter, a Prince Rupert oceanologist, said some city infrastructure is definitely at risk as sea levels rise on the North Coast.
“The issue from a social perspective is whether or not northern communities are prepared to deal with superstructure changes that arise from changing sea levels,” said Faggetter.
Prince Rupert has taken some measure to deal with that very issue. As the city is developing it Liquid Waste Management Plan, one of the keystones built into the plan is rising sea levels.
Faggetter has sat on the LWMP committee and her input has been used to incorporate the changing sea into the plan.
“That plan will be prepared because we know its coming. One would assume that if we get the money to develop that plan at all, we will develop that system with rising sea levels in mind,” said Faggetter.
Faggetter said anywhere Prince Rupert has docks or roads near foreshore, there could be problems.
That might include popular walking paths such as the Kiwinitsa Station and the Lightering dock, as well the CN rail line.
“I’d love to see more unification,” said Faggetter. “There is much debate about how much global warming will affect us, but it is a given fact it’s going to take place. Even in Prince Rupert there is a divide between those who think it’s an issue and those that don’t.
“But there is middle ground and the solution will not be either black or white.”
Skeena-Bukley Valley MP Nathan Cullen said that he did not believe the federal government was showing much leadership on the issue by taking a wait-and-see approach with negotiations.
“The instructions at this point have been written out of the office towers of Calgary. Look where it’s gotten us. We have no investment in green energy any longer – zero. All the money is being dumped into carbon capture and sequestration, an unproven answer,” said Cullen.
Cullen added that the U.S. is spending $14 for every $1 Canada spends on climate action. “And that’s per capita. That is shocking.”
