lytton, b.c., got so hot it ignited in an inferno; raging wildfires have shrouded cities like montreal in smog ; a series of tornadoes touched down in ontario; and nearly 200 people have died in flooding in europe.
we — governments, citizens — have been distracted from this existential threat by the global health emergency of covid-19 for more than a year now. weary though we may be after 18 months of sacrifice and collective effort, the pandemic was merely the dress rehearsal for the fight of our lives.
advertisement
but can the worst be averted? matthews led a team of researchers who calculated how much more carbon dioxide humans can emit and still stay below that threshold. their findings, published recently in nature’s communications earth and environment journal , are cause for both hope and fear.
advertisement
after four years of eroding environmental protections, the united states is now reclaiming climate leadership under president joe biden. his administration last spring pledged to slash greenhouse gas emissions in half
in canada — the world’s largest emitter per capita — the government of prime minister justin trudeau adopted the net-zero emissions accountability act . this commits canada — which is often accused of talking the talk, but not walking the walk — to a process for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. the new law, which squeaked through the senate just in time for the summer break — and before a possible federal election call — enshrines emission reduction targets in law and requires the government to produce a viable plan to attain them every five years.
advertisement
canada, an oil-producing nation, also announced it will ban the sale of new gasoline-combustion-engine vehicles by 2035.
quebec also decided not to allow a liquefied natural gas project in saguenay .