Global Climate Change : A Growing Population

Case Background: - In transportation industry, one of the biggest challenge is how to deal with carbon dioxide emissions and how to reduce the energy. According to the Natural Resources Canada, one third of the greenhouse emission is because of transportation industry.

Currently, the Canadian government is taking several initiatives to control climate change. In 2017, Canada signed the Paris Accord and agreed to cut 30% of carbon emissions by 2030.

Canada is one of the developed nations in the world and with that comes a certain type of lifestyle that its citizens are accustomed to and often expect. This lifestyle is definitely not conscious of the environment at most times, however is trying to improve or at least find some kind of alternative to environmental problems that we can’t actually fix because they’ve become an important part of our everyday life. For that, our lifestyle has been measured by way of an ecological footprint and the results obviously haven’t been something to be proud of. Although there are many reasons why the ecological footprint of Canada is so high, one of the reasons is because of our excessive fossil fuel emissions from our cars, trucks, busses and planes.

Despite its well-known Economic Action Plan and its continued emphasis on the need for more jobs and growth, it is still quite disturbing that the Canadian government gave a cold shoulder to environmental concerns in its 2014 budget. However, what has become clear in the last few years is that Canada is not committed to fighting climate change. In truth, it is not Canada that is uncommitted to the climate change cause. It is its Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, who is blocking all efforts to put Canada at the forefront of climate change efforts . And Canada should be leading climate change initiatives because it is one of the largest emitters in the world, and it is also a rich

Global warming is a serious issue throughout the world, and a thoughtful problem for Canada. In addition, this issue has evolved primarily because of the arrival of cars and the burning of fossil fuels. Also, with this more and more dioxide carbon or co2, went to the earth’s atmosphere and as a result temperatures throughout the world rise. As time passes, Canada becomes in serious danger not only because of the raising of sea levels (which can flood many cities and provinces) but it can also bring health issues to individuals as well as economic issues. Global warming is a real and serious issue that Humans are continuing to build up, (because of combustion of fossil fuels in cars, factories, electricity production, etc.) and as a result,

Electricity generation is Canada's fourth-largest source of greenhouse gas. When it comes to controlling the emission that comes from electricity generation; most provinces in Canada are already opting out of the coal phase to provide cleaner energy. The burning of firewood to create energy releases CO2 into the atmosphere thereby introducing more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.therefore introducing approaches to electricity such as increasing the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources; connecting clean power with places that need it and modernising electrical system could bring Canada to its goal by at least 5% to 15%. New rules that help to control emissions from an electrical sector that is burning natural gases should also be implemented. the government Could also control greenhouse gas emission by mandating the carbon pricing policy. Carbon pricing charges industries and corporations that emit CO2 for their emissions. This limits their emissions by instituting a price charge and encourage companies and consumers from burning fossil fuel and find alternative ways that are efficient for their business. Carbon pricing has been known to be the best tool in reducing greenhouse gas emissions since most of the gases released into the atmosphere are carbon. Carbon pricing helps to fight climate change and it provides job opportunity in creating clean energy. the growing population is also a discussable topic in climate change that could be really hard to control due to the fact that as the population increases; the demand for products that release this toxic gases would also increase. The government could control this by finding alternative ways to produce these commodities without introducing so much carbon or methane into the

Wind energy is, “a renewable resource and has no fuel cost”, which helps the wind energy industry rise to prominence (American). With the low prices of wind energy, it is becoming an affordable form of electricity, although it still isn’t a main component in regards to energy production. Hydropower is the United States, “largest source of renewable electricity”; the most common type is conventional, which is typically associated with dams (Valley). Although hydropower is the most prominent green energy source in the United States, it doesn’t take away from the outrageous prices that go along with having this type of energy. Solar energy is the last main source of green energy. There isn’t as much research regarding this industry, because it isn’t as developed as the others. However, millions of dollars have been granted to try and better its development (Howell). Green buildings are structures that, “aim to reduce the negative impacts on the environment through using less natural resources to build and operate” (Dwaikat). These eco-boosting buildings incorporate each of the common types of green energy, however in some cases, they “don’t perform as predicted” (Dwaikat). In a case study over green buildings, it was found that they, “used around 160% more energy than expected”, which became a trend for the majority of the buildings (Dwaikat).

Food and shopping are also increasing the effects of global warming. In Canada there are many farms, food factories, and clothing factories. With all these factories, Canada has many markets and stores open to sell all of that was produced from the factories. All of the production emits greenhouse gases, which is one of the reasons global warming is occurring in Canada. The greenhouse gas emissions from the food and shopping sectors produced by Canada is 4,603 megatons, which is almost 1 percent of the total greenhouse gas emitted in Canada (2011).

Jaccard Simon (2015) from the Fraser University, analysed the Canadian government actions for the last 9 years since they promised to reduce the carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2020. The Harper government in 2006 said they would establish policies and regulations that would help decrease the amount of greenhouse emissions. This same government avoided carbon pricing because they believed it was unnecessary. Nevertheless, they did not respect the promises made. Therefore Canada has been without any regulations for carbon emissions. Today we are in 2016, and it would be unlikely that Canada will reduce their greenhouse emissions by 20 percent by

The only choice for electricity in Ontario is generation of clean electricity because the current electricity path threatens the province. The province currently relies on coal for electricity production; this usually compromises environmental quality and public health. Severe smog alerts usually characterize the summer season of Ontario, and the burning o coal for the purpose of electricity production represents a chief source of local air pollution. A report released by the North American Commission for

This engagement process was facilitated by the City of Edmonton’s Office of Environment and was in partnership with Alberta Climate Change Dialogue (ABCD) and the Centre for Public Involvement (CPI) (Citizens’ Panel on Edmonton’s Energy and Climate Changes, 2013, pg. 1). The goals of the panel, the function and the process were clearly outlined in the Participants Handbook 2012 given to all the panel participants (Citizens’ Panel on Edmonton’s Energy and Climate changes Participant Handbook, 2012, pgs. 1-84). The goals of the project were to explore Edmontonians views on the importance of reducing its carbon footprint for future policy and direction. Final recommendations included that “the City of Edmonton take the measures needed to become a low Carbon City by 2050 and six goals (Citizens’ Panel on Edmonton’s Energy and Climate changes, 2013, pg. 1) were determined by this engagement process.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a necessity to combat climate change. The main greenhouse gas produced by human actions is carbon dioxide or CO2 (Overview of Greenhouse Gases). In 2014, Canada’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases was the oil and gas sector, composing of 26% of total emissions or 192 megatonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Economic Sector, 2016). Considering the impact of climate change on ecosystems, economies, and communities, it is essential for Canada to identify which system has the most impact on reducing carbon dioxide emissions (Impacts of Climate Change).

The B.C. Climate Action Plan is a comprehensive strategy implemented by the Canadian government with the objective to diminish provincial greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). In 2007, a Throne Speech was given remarking that climate leadership in B.C was illusory and commitment to climate leadership was an imperative component in the future of the province. As such, in 2008, the Climate Action Plan was released with the intent to serve as a guide in helping British Columbia attain a prosperous, green economy. Within the Action Plan, initiatives and approaches are outlined to make B.C carbon neutral by 2010 and move the province closer towards reducing GHG emissions to the target 33 percent in 2020. By 2050, the

Reported as Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS) in 2012, the Government of Canada has taken actions on climate change in both domestic and international. At the Copenhagen Accord in December 2009, Canada pledged to align with the U.S. target, this being 17% below 2005 levels by 2020 (3). To achieve this target, while on the one hand Canada proposed to control emissions. For examples, Canada has plans for addressing short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) to help meet climate goals and improve air quality (4). Short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs), the government of Canada introduced it as “a group of greenhouse gases and air pollutants that have a near-term warming impact on climate and can affect air quality” (5). Canada solves SLCPs through enhancing science and communications to broaden understanding and engaging internationally, and building partnerships to reduce SLCPs on a global scale. On the other hand, Canada also focused on improving energy efficiency. For instance, the government builds smart, integrated clean electricity systems such as hydro, wind, and solar to afford power. Those are ways that how Canada address the climate

Climate change is a growing concern in today’s world. We often hear about worldwide temperature rises, and how they are caused by pollution. We are warned about some of the potentially catastrophic consequences of rising temperatures in the future. However, climate change has already begun to occur. (NASA, “Climate Change Effects: The consequences of Climate Change”). Therefore, there is significantly more talk about solutions to climate change. These solutions will reduce the causes of climate change, and also prevent any future damage or destruction caused by climate change. However, we must first understand how climate change is caused, and how it affects the Earth, in order to see how these solutions will help solve it.