Justin Trudeau pledges to push laggards on climate change

Canada will work with United States to push more ambitious climate change goals going into Paris talks, Trudeau says

Thestar.com
Nov. 17, 2015
By Bruce Campion-Smith

View video link: http://bcove.me/3wadmeis

Canada will work with the United States to push laggard nations to adopt more ambitious climate change goals going into the Paris talks to curb greenhouse gas emissions, a signal of Ottawa’s new readiness to act on the environment file, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.

Trudeau said that a common strategy on climate change would be on the agenda when he meets with U.S. President Barack Obama Thursday in Manila on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) summit of Asia-Pacific leaders.

“We’ll also be talking about our approach to Paris, how it’s important to push strongly on some of the more recalcitrant countries who don’t seem to be as ambitious in their approaches to climate,” he told reporters Tuesday.
Trudeau didn’t single out any nations in particular but suggested that under the previous Conservative government, Canada itself was viewed as an obstacle on the climate change front.

“I know I’ve heard from a number of people that they’re pleased that Canada is taking a more active role in convincing other countries to do more on climate change,” he said.

Indeed, Trudeau said that Obama’s recent characterization of Alberta crude as dirty oil was in part spurred by Canadian inaction on the environmental file. Obama made the comment earlier this month when he rejected the Keystone XL pipeline meant to carry Alberta oilsands crude to U.S. refineries.

“A less aggressive approach on environmental responsibilities in the past led to a ramping up of rhetoric against Canadian oil and against Canadian energy,” Trudeau said.

“I know that Canada has to start demonstrating real action and not just words in order for the world to understand that we are serious and committed to developing our resources in a responsible and sustainable way,” he said.

The prime minister said he’ll be pushing for a continent-wide approach to energy issues, adding that he’s already begun those discussions with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.

“The challenge we have is ensuring that the three North American countries are properly co-ordinated in our energy plans, in our environmental plans and the desire we share to remain competitive in the world economy,” Trudeau said.

The prime minister made the comments during a discussion with reporters onboard his military Airbus en route to Manila from Turkey, where he attended the G20 summit earlier in the week.

The informal discussion revived a tradition that had been discarded under tight message control of former prime minister Stephen Harper. Trudeau offered some insights about attending his first-ever summit meeting and his optimism for working with Obama.

He said the dynamic of U.S. president in his last year and a prime minister in his first - both looking to gets things done - bodes well.

“His focus on getting big things done in his final year, looking at legacy, dovetails nicely with my desire to get big things done off the bat in my first year to set the tone for the coming years,” Trudeau told reporters.

“That means we’re going to have a lot to agree on,” the prime minister said.

In the case of Canada, Trudeau said his government was making up for lost time under the previous Conservative government, the “years in which we weren’t quite as active as we could have been.”

The two leaders have talked by telephone several times since Trudeau’s election win on Oct. 19. They had their first face-to-face, informal meeting on the margins of the G20 summit earlier this week.

In addition to climate change, Trudeau expects a number of issues to be on the agenda for their meeting, such as security, refugees, Syria and Canada’s “continued commitment” to the coalition battling Islamic State extremists.

In his conversation with reporters, Trudeau also reflected on his first foray on the world stage since winning the Oct. 19 election. In a harried week, the prime minister attended the G20 summit in Turkey and then flew to Manila.

With the leaders of the world’s 20 major economies gathered around a table in Antalya, Turkey, Trudeau revealed that he wasn’t shy about asking their advice.

“I asked a fair bit of advice of leaders and they volunteered some as well,” he said.

“I’m aware there’s a lot going on in the world and hearing what their priorities are, what their approaches are to the issues that are important to them was a good way of starting relationships,” he said.