My previous post posed the question of whether President Bush’s complete ignorance towards climate change actually might have been a benefit to the environment. How? The President’s refusal to deal with the issue essentially served as a catalyst for a number of regional-level plans (WRI, RGGI, etc.) to evolve in the USA to address climate change.

With so many issues it is fascinating to compare the differences between the two neighboring countries of Canada and America, and climate change is no exception.

Canada has shown that ‘official’ support and acknowledgement of climate change by the federal government (including ratification of the Kyoto Protocol) do not necessarily lead to positive steps being taken. Essentially Canada has dragged its feet on climate change at the federal level for the past several years. In my opinion this has occurred because of a combination of factors.

First, Canada has been somewhat politically unstable over the past three or four years. During this time there has been a change in the governing party which resulted in major policy shifts, including climate change policies. There have also been a number of successive elections that resulted in minority governments. For my American readers not familiar with this concept, a minority government means that the governing party does not have enough representation to pass legislation without forming coalitions with other non-governing parties. This results in a government that is politically weaker and generally less able to pass strong and impactful legislation.

Before I continue, it should be noted that political instability can only be partially blamed. The previous Liberal government that was in power when Canada signed onto Kyoto was equally as ineffective at slowing greenhouse gas emissions or implementing effective plans to do so and it was a more powerful majority government.

Second, there is the belief amongst many high-profile experts that the federal government does not want to effectively penalize one of our biggest cash cows and political bargaining chips (the Alberta oil sands) through mandatory greenhouse gas reductions that would impact its bottom line.

Third, Canada is quite often reluctant to take a leadership role on cross-border issues as momentous as climate change. There is often the desire to wait for American policy-makers to take the lead on such issues, and this is precisely what has occurred in this case as the Canadian government is waiting to see what the incoming Obama administration will do.

This shuffling of feet at Canada’s federal level has resulted in a great degree of uncertainty at the provincial level. Only recently have the provinces begun to take measures into their own hands, probably because they have given up on receiving any actual leadership from Ottawa – and hats off to them for doing so! A number of those provinces are actually joining forces with regional made-in-America solutions to climate change that emerged because of President Bush’s refusal to act.

Which brings us back to the original question. Is it worse to have a leader that completely ignores climate change and pretends it doesn’t exist? Or is it actually worse to have a federal government that recognizes the problem but only gives it ‘window-dressing’ treatment with ineffective policies and wasted time? I suppose time will tell – let us hope that President-elect Obama breaks the mold and brings federal-level leadership on climate change that is serious and produces results.

As we enter the final week of the George W. Bush presidency, it gives us a chance to reflect on the President’s record over the last eight years on a myriad of issues. One of the areas where President Bush has been most scorned during his tenure has been the environment. This is due in large part to his administration’s inaction on the climate change issue. Indeed his unwillingness to deal with climate change, or even to admit that it exists, is one of the main reasons that the President is vilified by most people that consider themselves to be environmentally aware. 

Only time will tell how history will perceive President Bush in terms of his environmental legacy. I would like to pose a question that might not sit well with many of my eco-minded colleagues: Was the President’s ignorance and outright refusal to act on climate change actually a positive thing?

President Bush’s outright ignorance of the climate change issue left no question in people’s minds – if action was going to be made it would be done at the state or multi-state level. While shockingly short-sighted of the President to ignore climate change, at least it was such a strong refusal to address the issue that there was absolutely no uncertainty that other levels of government would have pick up the slack. The President’s inactions spurred a number of regional initiatives across the country (RGGI, WCI, CCAR, to name a few) that have been positively embraced across state lines (and even international boundaries) and will likely set the framework for a future continental cap and trade market.

What if Bush had tried to appease his critics and had given climate change even a small amount of attention within his government? It likely wouldn’t have been given anything but a token mention within policy meetings, as his administration obviously had other issues that they placed at a much higher priority. But if this had occurred, the very fact that his government recognized climate change might have led to the kind of uncertainty that has paralyzed action in Canada for a number of years. My assessment of the Canada situation will be the subject of a follow-up post in a couple of days.

I’m not saying the President’s choices were good. Obviously it would have been better to have had strong support from the White House several years ago - who knows where we might have been now? But at least he made it clear that he wasn’t going to deal with it, and that left the door open for others to take the lead. It seems hard to believe, but someday we might actually thank President Bush for his stubborn climate change stance.

At Kuzuka we would like to extend our heartfelt congratulations to President-elect Obama for his historic and resounding victory earlier this week. Mr. Obama has captured the hearts and minds of people the world over, and we are optimistic that he will actually be able to deliver on some of the change that he promised throughout the lengthy campaign. Let us hope that Mr. Obama sticks to his word and brings the climate change issue to the federal level in the USA after years of relative ignorance to the problem. With the power shift that will be occurring when the new Congress starts in January, the Democrats are in the position to introduce rigorous but fair federal climate change legislation.

On another note, over the past several months it has been so interesting being able to monitor the American presidential race from my humble home in the Great White North. For those of you that aren’t aware of this, we had a federal election up here in Canada earlier this fall. The entire process took about six weeks from the time the Prime Minister announced the election to when it was held. What I found amazing was that during that six-week campaign period in September and October, most of my Canadian friends and family were much more interested in talking about the American election.

Why is this?

Is it because they knew that my wife and I are American citizens and they wanted to get an American perspective on the US election?

Is it because they were just doing the most favorite of Canadian pastimes – obsessively concerning themselves with American issues and comparing themselves to Americans?

I don’t think it is either of these reasons. I think the reason they were so interested in the American election more than their own is because the American candidates were actually appealing! Look at the two choices in the American election. One was a decorated war hero and one of the few maverick politicians known to cross party lines and vote with his conscience. The other was one of the most charismatic and motivating politicians I have ever seen, and the first African-American candidate to ever gain his party’s nomination for President.

What did we have to choose from here in Canada? We actually have a lot of political parties in Canada, but only two have a realistic chance of governing. Choice 1 - an incumbent prime minister with a bad attitude, bad haircut, and zero charisma or charm. Choice 2 – a lifelong academic who looks like one of the guys from the audio-visual club in high school. No wonder the Canadians were so turned off by their own election and mesmerized by the American one.

Congratulations again Mr. Obama. We at Kuzuka look forward to working in a country governed by an administration that will address the issue of climate change with the attention that it deserves.