Canada And The U.S. May Be About To Do Something Big On Climate

[applegrove]

Canada And The U.S. May Be About To Do Something Big On Climate

by Samantha Page at Think Progress

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/03/04/3756197/trudeau-visit-preview/

"SNIP...........


Environmentalists cheered when Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, rode a wave of popularity to the position last fall, replacing the pro-tar sands, anti-carbon regulation Steven Harper. Now, Trudeau is preparing for his first state visit to Washington, D.C., where the Prime Minister and President Obama are set to discuss climate change and trade next week.

Expectations are already high.

The Canadian trade minister told Canada’s Globe and Mail this week that she expects significant progress on several key issues between the two countries.

“The visit is still coming together but I am very hopeful there will be some real accomplishments on the environment and climate change,” Chrystia Freeland told the paper. “We are still 10 days away and negotiations are very intense right now and I am not going to get ahead of where negotiators are.”



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[daleanime]

1. As long as Big Money has a Big Say in our government.....

doing anything Big on the Environment is a Big Dream.

[pampango]

2. May liberals never stop trying even though conservatives nip at their heels.

Any leader willing to take a gamble on a future like that, any leader who refuses to take this issue seriously or treats it like a joke is not fit to lead,” Obama said at the time.

Canadian voters appeared to agree with the American president. Climate change was a key issue during the elections just a month later.
“Things are happening in a way we haven’t seen in a decade,” Erin Flanagan, Pembina Institute’s director of federal policy, told ThinkProgress. “The two administrations are quite aligned on what they want to see happen.”

In February, the United States, Canada, and Mexico signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on energy that includes sharing information on grids, clean technologies, emissions reductions, and other energy-related developments. Flanagan, whose group focuses on clean energy solutions, said she expects any official announcements coming next week to build off the MOU’s framework.

Conservatives may stop us but we should never stop working to make things better.