“If you’re: fighting for a livable climate; fighting for a just transition for workers; fighting for Indigenous rights; fighting pipelines and other fossil fuel expansion projects; fighting attacks on public services and workers’ rights; fighting Scheer, Ford, Kenney, etc., and the rising forces of far right extremism they’re amplifying; let’s talk about how we can work together on it.” –Dylan Penner, Climate and Social Justice Campaigner, The Council of Canadians
Photo: Climate Justice Ottawa
At the intersections of the climate crisis and the system that created it there is much work to be done.
This is true in the sense that there are many more good jobs to be had in a just transition to a low carbon economy than there are in fossil fuel expansion. It’s true in the sense that we have a lot of organizing to do to win a future that avoids the worst possible outcomes of the climate crisis.
It’s also true that this is a necessity in the face of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) report this past Fall that warned we have until 2030 to change course.
I’m looking forward to contributing to this urgent work as the Council of Canadians’ new Climate and Social Justice Campaigner.
A key part of this work will be supporting efforts to win a Green New Deal, similar to what movement organizers and progressive Democrats are pushing for in the United States.
A Green New Deal in Canada has the potential to accelerate our collective work for jobs, social justice, and a livable climate. It’s true it’s ambitious, but that’s the point. And it’s a necessity if we want to avoid climate breakdown.
The upsurge of support for and awareness of a Green New Deal is a huge opportunity to win significant gains in pushing the Canadian government to set and meet much bolder climate commitments, create a just transition that ensures good jobs for workers, respects Indigenous rights and climate justice, and throws neoliberal “solutions” into the dustbin of history. MORE
County Sustainability Group 