It is summer in Canada. Are you truly relaxing? Or do you hear the wake-up calls?
This summer heat records are being shattered all around the world. We live in the boreal forest. With the heat comes the danger of fire. On June 27, Canada surpassed the record set in 1989 for total area burned in one season when it reached 7.6 million hectares.
We have so far dodged the forest fire bullet in our region of Canada this year, but what’s happening now is unprecedented, and it’s also a dire warning of what’s coming.
We are in uncharted territory. How did we get here?
Firstly, everyone needs to know that the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas account for more than 80 per cent of global warming gases.
In 1959, on its 100th birthday, Edward Teller warned the American Petroleum Institute about global warming. (See Geoff Dembicki’s The Petroleum Papers.) How did the petroleum industry respond? They not only ignored the facts, but spread disinformation to block climate action for decades.
What to do?
We need to listen to the experts and cooperate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has produced seven collections of assessment reports since 1990, all signed off by every government in the world. A fantastic book to learn more about the IPCC is the graphic novel “Because IPCC” available for free online at https://becauseipcc.thesuccession.ca.
The last report was clear: There is still time to get off fossil fuels and there are many co-benefits to doing so.
How do we cut fossil fuel production?
The facts are clear. The fossil fuel companies have been using their vast wealth to deceive the world for decades. They are not to be trusted. We need to cut off their source of money.
Who funds the fossil fuel industry? The biggest funders by far are financial institutions.
The government must create more rules to cut off the supply of money to the fossil fuel industry from the private sector without hurting everyday people. They have begun to do so with fossil fuel pollution pricing with rebates. Canada’s pollution policy needs to be strengthened. Other things are needed such as rules that require financial institutions to disclose climate risks.
We also need a global plan to get off of fossil fuels. This is gaining momentum. The city of Rome, Italy became the 84th city to sign on to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. As well, climate ministers globally, led by Canada and Germany, are urging the COP 28 presidency to phase out fossil fuels.
What can you do?
Save the date! On Friday, Sept. 15, youth around the world will be cutting classes. Fridays For Future (FFF) Greater Sudbury is seeking schools and youth groups to join us in our action.
The theme for the global day of action is: End Fossil Fuel Finance - Fair Fast and Forever. Adults, please encourage schools to send buses to the event and for school boards to allow youth the day off without penalty. Once we have signed off on all the paperwork we will announce the venue and time for our event.
For now please look for announcements in the newspapers, radio, and TV as well as our Facebook and Instagram pages. For youth specifically, on our Instagram page is a sign-up form in our bio to join us.
In the fall of 2023, we will also be working towards getting our city to sign onto the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. Thus look for ways to support our actions when they are announced.
Greater Sudbury, together we are going to help lead the world out of this mess. We got this!
Sophia Mathur, Salma Mohamed and Maimoona Siddiqui are climate activists in Sudbury.
