A practical joke has been played just in time for the UN Climate Change conference taking place in Copenhagen with Canada as the main target. A mock news release was issued in which Environment Canada announced the launch of Agenda 2020, an ambitious plan for reducing the country’s carbon emissions. Easy enough to believe – several countries have an energy master plan under the same time constraint.
The spoof said, “Agenda 2020 sets binding emissions reductions targets of 40% below 1990 levels by 2020 and at least 80% by 2050, in line with the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and approaching the levels demanded by the African Group (link). The plan also introduces a new instrument, known as the "Climate Debt Mechanism" (CDM), committing Canada to much-needed funding to those developing countries facing the most dire consequences of climate change. CDM payments will begin with 1% and rise to the equivalent of 5% of Canada’s GDP annually by 2030.”
This was released via a website that was similar to Environment Canada’s legitimate site in addition to the information being made available on a fake Twitter account for Canada’s Minister of the Environment Jim Prentice. Following the publication of the initial release, an alleged response to the launch of Agenda 2020 was made by the Ugandan delegation to Copenhagen stating, “The Ugandan delegation to the COP-15 climate talks has been the first to react to Canada’s announcement of ambitious new emissions-reduction targets and vigorous climate-debt reparations to African nations.”
Canada’s current energy policy remains faithful to Canada’s tradition of political pragmatism. Experts note, for example, that the oil sands of Alberta, contrary to environmentalists’dire assertions, are enabling Canada to meet ambitious emissions goals by providing the country, as well as its neighbors, with the energy resources needed to transition to a cleaner energy future. “Without the dynamism of our oil sands industry,” says Bruce Carson, a special Adviser to Environment Canada, “we in Canada would not have the energy – moral, financial and literal – to develop the alternative energy future the whole world craves.”
Alternative Energy Africa says: Someone clearly has too much time on his/her hands in order to orchestrate such an elaborate plan to undermine a country’s RE efforts. Instead of spending all this time, energy, and effort on false press releases and websites, join in and collect trash in the community and perhaps get positive media attention by turning waste into energy. Just a thought.