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Dear Ministers Chagger and Wilkinson,
I’m writing as a constituent to urge Canada to take action on climate change. The recent release of the IPCC report highlights the necessity of doing what we can to fix this human-caused problem. We need to take action now as a society, and the government needs to take a leading role: this problem requires collective action, and we as individuals do not have the power to solve it on our own.
We’re in a hole, with 1°C of warming already. The first thing we need to do is to stop digging. Literally, in the case of the oil sands and pipelines. The government has to get out of its ill-advised pipeline purchases and arrange to leave hydrocarbons in the ground. The oil and gas sector is Canada’s leading cause of emissions and the government ultimately has to shrink the size of this sector and provide alternatives for workers.
In second place is the transport sector, including light trucks and freight trucks. We desperately need better urban design to get people out of their trucks in the city. Electric SUVs aren’t going to save us. We must require less driving to live everyday life, which also has health and financial benefits also. Rail freight also has a role to play here.
As ministers in the government which will presumably be re-elected, you have the power to change the world in the most fundamental way possible, keeping Canada and the world as a place that is habitable by human beings. I am asking you to wield your power to save us.
Thank you for your attention,
Patrick Lam, PhD, PEng