Premier Blaine Higgs has hinted he would like to end the moratorium on fracking in the province. The premier is also pushing a private-sector company, Repsol, to convert its Saint John LNG (liquefied natural gas) import terminal into an export terminal to help Germany with its energy woes.
The Conservation Council of New Brunswick and CRED-NB core member the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance (NBASGA) have published a fact sheet to unpack this situation. Read it HERE.
Janice Harvey, representative on CRED-NB for the Environment & Society Program at St. Thomas University, is the author of this commentary in The Hill Times, and republished in the NB Media Co-op, HERE.
Geopolitical events are persuading some governments to re-invest in fossil fuel infrastructure. Jim Emberger from the New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance (NBASGA, a CRED-NB core group) wrote a letter in response to a commentary in Brunswick news calling for more fossil fuel extraction in Canada. He writes:
Climate change is happening so rapidly that many plants and animals may not be able to adapt or move in time to survive. Crop losses due to climate related weather, and diseases due to invasive species, whose expansion is enabled by warmer conditions, are all on the rise.
None of these trends cares a whit about Ukraine, or Canada’s fossil fuel industry. The laws of physics do not respond to political and economic events, nor can you bargain with them. If we burn more fossil fuels – the climate will warm – period.
Read the letter HERE, on the NBASGA website.
Do you know what carbon “lock-in” is, and how it keeps us tied to fossil fuel infrastructure in New Brunswick? If not, check out this video by JP Sapinski, professor of environmental studies at Université de Moncton. The story with the video link was published by the NB Media Co-op, HERE.
The video is Sapinski’s a zoom presentation, hosted by the Environment & Society program at St. Thomas University and the RAVEN project at the University of New Brunswick (both CRED-NB core members).
Rally for a safe climate and equitable world! Stand in solidarity with people most affected by the climate crisis.
Optional: 10:30am meet at Conserver House, 180 St. John Street (near the Legislature) to make signs.
Hear from climate activists, Indigenous land defenders, youth, scientists, trade unionists, energy policy experts and elected representatives on what a just energy transition looks like for Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada and beyond.
“Not a drill”: Fredericton rally to call for climate justice
Extinction Rebellion New Brunswick and partner organizations, including environmental groups and labour unions, invite everyone to assemble at the New Brunswick Legislature in Fredericton on unceded Wolastoqiyik territory on September 24 at noon to demand that all levels of government take immediate and effective action on the climate emergency that respects climate justice.
Participants are asked to wear masks and stand six feet apart in a visual display of safety and solidarity with everyone around the world affected by climate change and the global pandemic.
“Our Indigenous Elders have told us for decades that humans have lost their way by neglecting to uphold the original teachings on how to respect and live in balance with Mother Earth. Hence, we are presently in a state of emergency facing global climate disasters and it will only worsen if we as humans don’t stop the greed of corporations and colonial governments,” says Wolastoqewi Grand Chief spasaqsit possesom – Ron Tremblay.
“Climate justice goes beyond advocating for renewable energy, recognizing that injustice is linked to social, economic, and political systems and that climate change has its roots in capitalism, colonialism, the patriarchy and other systems of oppression,” says Susan O’Donnell, one of the climate rally organizers and lead researcher with the RAVEN project at the University of New Brunswick.
With New Brunswick refusing to close the Belledune coal plant in 2030 as part of Canada’s transition off coal, advocates for a just energy transition point to the need to include all affected workers and communities in climate solutions and future economic planning.
“Now is the time to be talking about a just energy transition for workers in the fossil fuel and nuclear sectors and their communities in New Brunswick as well as in Colombia where NB Power has been sourcing coal from the Cerrejón coal mine since the 1990s. It’s not the time to keep yesterday’s fuel sources like coal and nuclear on the table,” said Tracy Glynn, one of the rally organizers and who has worked with Colombian coal miners and affected community members to tell their stories for more than a decade.
“The coal burned in Belledune comes from Colombia where its extraction is linked to the forced displacement and starvation of Indigenous Wayuu and Afro-Colombian farmers and children and repression of coal miners and unionists. Climate justice is migrant justice. It’s reproductive justice. It’s housing justice,” says Glynn.
Climate activists, Indigenous land defenders, youth, scientists, trade unionists, energy policy experts, and elected representatives will share their thoughts on what a just energy transition looks like for Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada and beyond. Ron Tremblay, the Wolastoq Grand Chief, David Coon, MLA for Fredericton South, Fredericton Mayor Kate Rogers, Lois Corbett, Executive Director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, and Danny Legere, President of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour are among the speakers.
This rally is supported by Extinction Rebellion New Brunswick, Council of Canadians Fredericton Chapter, Council of Canadians Saint John Chapter, Coalition for Responsible Energy Development in New Brunswick (CRED-NB), Conservation Council of New Brunswick, CUPE NB, Fredericton Club of the Communist Party of Canada, Leap4wards Saint John, New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance (NBASGA), New Brunswick Federation of Labour, NB Media Co-op, No One Is Illegal Fredericton, RAVEN, Reproductive Justice NB and Solidarité Fredericton.
All social justice, environmental and climate action groups are invited to endorse this rally. To add your name to our event coalition, contact: fredericton.solidarity@gmail.com.
For more information, contact Tracy Glynn, 506 440-5592, fredericton.solidarity@gmail.com.
1 September 2021
Hello everyone,
My name is Doug Swain. I’ve been a member of Extinction Rebellion New Brunswick (XRNB) since April 2019. I’m writing to you because we are at a critical stage in the climate crisis. The 2018 IPCC report stated that we needed to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by about 50% globally by 2030 to avoid a high probability of unstoppable runaway climate change. Three years out of the 12-year window have already passed and GHG emissions continue to rise in Canada.
Now the latest report concludes that the 2018 report was too optimistic, and greater and sooner reductions in GHG emissions are now needed (XR would say that we need net-zero by 2025). But Canada hasn’t even started to address the 2018 target of ~50% reductions by 2030.
Scientists have warned about global warming for over 30 years but governments have failed to act. Now they must take strong action immediately. In my view, governments will only start to address the climate emergency with the required urgency if 10s of 1000s of people are marching repeatedly in the streets across the country. I don’t think that this will happen until the many climate action, environmental and just transition groups act together to mobilise these numbers. So I am writing to you to see whether your group would consider working together with like-minded groups to make this happen. I have set up a Zoom meeting on September 15 for us to discuss this. The link and details are below.
Also, if you want to give this a try before our meeting, there will be an opprtunity on Wednesday Sep 8 in Saint John. On Sep 8, 350.org is organizing marches or rallies across Canada to demand a moratorium on fossil fuel expansion, including stopping existing expansion projects, and an urgent and robust just transition plan that leaves no one behind and moves us past fossil fuels. For further details and sign-up google ‘350.org/still-on-fire/’
Thanks you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Doug Swain
Extinction Rebellion New Brunswick.
***
Invitation to work together in the fight for action on the climate emergency
Topic: WorkTogether
Time: Sep 15, 2021 07:00 PM AST
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The New Brunswick Anti-Shale Gas Alliance (NBASGA) has joined the CRED-NB core group of members. Welcome!
From the NBASGA website:
“NBASGA values our basic human right to fresh air, clear water, a healthy environment and a prosperous future for our children and grandchildren.
“We represent the interests of all New Brunswickers opposed to unconventional shale gas and oil exploration and development. We believe that clean energy alternatives will provide New Brunswick with a brighter, more secure future.”
The Conservation Council of New Brunswick (CCNB) wrote to federal Environment Minister Wilkinson with concerns about New Brunswick’s proposed regulation Phasing Out of Coal-fired Electricity Generation – Climate Change Act. CRED-NB was among the many groups endorsing the CCNB letter. Our concerns regard the use of equivalency agreements when Canada is promoting its commitment to phasing out coal-fired electricity by 2030 within the Powering Past Coal Alliance. Read the letter HERE.
The Sierra Club and CRED-NB member Greg Goubko published a commentary today in the NB Media Co-op: Hey New Brunswick! Check your carbon tax facts. You can read it here.
We invite everyone concerned about the climate crisis to sign a petition urging the federal government to take bold action with significantly increased climate ambition. Canada’s federal government is rolling out its’ emissions targets, sectoral action plans and legislation (Bill C-12 Short title “Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act”). These plans fall far short of meeting the level set by the IPCC in Paris in 2015. (Some supporting action plans are equally questionable, notably the plan to develop new nuclear reactors that will not be ready in time to address the climate crisis and will add more toxic radioactive waste.)
Why Getting to Paris with Trudeau Doesn’t Cut it
https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3221
Jenica Atwin, MP for Fredericton, has agreed to authorize the petition to be presented to the House. This petition will remain open until May 11, 2021. Please share this petition as widely as possible so that it can gather the maximum number of signatures beyond the 500 needed to petition the government! Click on the page below for more information.
Our petition calls on the government to address these shortfalls by increasing Canada’s emissions reduction targets and ensuring that the ‘advisory body’ of up to 15 people proposed in the legislation, is comprised exclusively of scientific experts. If you agree, please sign the House of Commons Petition.
https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3221
You will receive a follow up email from the House of Commons which asks you to respond to confirm that you were the person signing the petition.
Veuillez signer une petition pour accroître d’urgence l’ambition et l’action climatiques du Canada.
Nous invitons toutes les personnes préoccupées par la crise climatique à signer une pétition exhortant le gouvernement fédéral à prendre des mesures audacieuses avec une ambition climatique considérablement accrue que celle présentement visée. Le gouvernement fédéral du Canada déploie ses objectifs en matière d’émissions, ses plans d’action sectoriels et sa législation (projet de loi C-12 « Loi canadienne sur la responsabilité des émissions nettes nulles »). Ces plans sont loin d’atteindre le niveau fixé par le GIEC à Paris en 2015. (Certains plans d’action à l’appui sont tout aussi discutables, notamment le plan de développement de nouveaux réacteurs nucléaires qui ne seront pas prêts à temps pour faire face à la crise climatique et ajouteront davantage de déchets radioactifs toxiques.)
Pourquoi ‘Se rendre à Paris’ avec Trudeau ne fait pas l’affaire
Cliquez sur la page ci-dessous pour plus d’informations:
Notre pétition les invite à combler ces lacunes en augmentant les objectifs de réduction des émissions du Canada et en veillant à ce que « l’organe consultatif » de jusqu’à 15 personnes proposé dans la loi soit composé exclusivement d’experts scientifiques. Si vous êtes d’accord, veuillez signer la pétition de la Chambre des communes ici.
https://petitions.noscommunes.ca/fr/Petition/Details?Petition=e-3221.
Vous recevrez un courriel de suivi de la Chambre des communes qui vous demandera de répondre pour confirmer que vous étiez la personne qui a signé la pétition.
Jenica Atwin, députée de Fredericton N.-B., a accepté d’être la députée qui autorise la présentation de la pétition à la Chambre. Celle-ci restera ouverte jusqu’ à 11 mai 2021 S’il vous plaît partagez cette pétition aussi largement que possible afin qu’elle puisse recueillir un nombre maximum de signatures au-delà des 500 signatures nécessaires pour présenter une pétition au gouvernement!