Canada “believed to have missed out” on speaking slot at Climate Ambition Summit this Saturday

Yesterday was International Human Rights Defenders Day. On average four land and environmental defenders have been killed every seek since the Paris climate agreement was reached at COP21 in Paris in December 2015.

On December 10, The Guardian reported on the Climate Ambition Summit which is being hosted by Britain, France and the United Nations this Saturday December 12 in a bid to boost climate commitments ahead of the COP26 summit next year.

The article explains: “The co-hosts, which also include Chile and Italy, wrote to national leaders in October offering speaking slots to countries that promised deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, backed a long-term strategy to reach net-zero emissions, or offered new commitments on climate finance or adaptation.”

The article highlights that Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is “unlikely” to have a speaking slot at the summit.

Then in the ninth paragraph of the story, it notes: “Canada and New Zealand, which both have set net zero targets for 2050, are also believed to have missed out.”

This follows a conversation on November 9 between the summit’s host, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the Climate Ambition Summit and “the importance of global climate action and the need for countries to set ambitious targets to cut emissions and to reach net zero.”

Under the Harper and Trudeau governments, Canada has previously promised to cut emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. Using the more commonly used international baseline, Greenpeace Canada has calculated that equates to a pledge to reduce emissions by just 14 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.

Yesterday, December 9, was the 22nd anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly adopting the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders.

The UN High Commissioner for human rights has stated climate change is a massive threat to human rights and the UN Human Rights Council has passed this resolution calling for the protection of environmental human rights defenders given the crucial role they play in protecting vital ecosystems and addressing climate change.

On average four land and environmental defenders have been killed every week since the Paris climate agreement was reached at COP21 in Paris in December 2015. More than one-third of those fatal attacks have been against Indigenous land defenders.

PBI-Canada is asking Prime Minister Trudeau to strengthen Canada’s climate targets, to present credible plans to meet those targets, and to uphold the right of Indigenous land defenders to free, prior and informed consent.

You can add your voice to this call by clicking here.

The Guardian’s environment correspondent Fiona Harvey has commented: “This week’s climate ambition summit will be an important milestone, but the Cop26 summit next year will be the key test.” PBI-Canada will continue to focus on the issue of frontline climate defenders in the lead-up to this November 1-12, 2021 summit.