The story of tomorrow: We will win!

The Story of Tomorrow: “We will win!”

Takeaways and a message of hope from The Climate Reality Project’s Leadership Corps Training, led by Al Gore, in Toronto (Mississauga) July 9-10, 2015

Prepared by: Elaine Ho, GreenLearning Canada Associate (Ontario), 28 July 2015 Prepared for: GreenLearning Canada Foundation and others

Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 2

Background to The Climate Reality Project ................................................................................... 3

The Toronto 2015 Leadership Corps Training, Day 1 .................................................................... 4

MY JOURNEY TO CLIMATE REALITY ........................................................................................... 7

THE SHIFT TO ACTION AND CLEAN TECH ................................................................................... 8

The Toronto 2015 Leadership Corps Training, Day 2 .................................................................. 13

MORNING WITH KATHLEEN WYNNE AND AL GORE ............................................................... 13

FINAL THOUGHTS FROM CLIMATE REALITY LEADERS ............................................................. 17

Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 18

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The Story of Tomorrow: “We will win!” Elaine Ho, July 28, 2015

Introduction The vast majority of individuals interested in the environment, sustainability and environmental education will use Gro Harlem Brundtland’s 1987 definition of sustainable development – “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” – as the model which we should strive to achieve. However, there are some issues with this definition that should be addressed. First, in using the term ‘needs’, we may not be considering quality of life (depending on how this is interpreted). More resources – natural capital, economic success and interpersonal interaction – are typically needed to bring people to what is commonly regarded as an acceptable quality of life than are needed to simply meet their everyday needs. Still, meeting basic needs is better than not, and so perhaps the bigger problem with this common definition is the lack of clarity in the term ‘future generations’. The management of resources for two or three generations looks very different from the management of resources for seven to ten generations; the difference dictates how much of which resources can be used and for what, as well as how we plan our communities and what kind of culture we want to develop into. As such, we can take the First Nations principle of the seventh generation, as follows:

“What we do today will affect the seventh generation and because of this we

must bear in mind our responsibility to them today and always.”

~International Institute for Sustainable Development, 1992

Yet, even with clarity on what needs to be done, action will not be taken without the engagement and learning of a critical mass. This must start with (environmental) education (regarding what the problem is and what solutions are available) and must continue with empowerment before people are able to influence those who can require and enforce action (this is the ultimate goal). Earthrise, the first colour photo of our planet (1968), is considered to be ‘the most influential environmental photo’ ever taken, and also the beginning of the environmental movement. Along with Carson’s Silent Spring (1962) and the determination of a US Senator, this photo inspired the masses leading up to the first Earth Day in 1970. About 20 million Americans took to the streets, resulting in a variety of ‘wins’, such as the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1972, over what has been dubbed the ‘environmental decade’ and ‘the golden era for environmentalism’. Per the EPA’s website (About EPA > Earth Day '70: What It Meant):

“Earth Day 1970 made it clear that we could summon the public support, the

energy, and commitment to save our environment... In the ten years since

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1970 much of the basic legislation needed to protect the environment has

been enacted into law: the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act,

the Water Pollution and Control Act Amendments, the Resource Recovery Act,

the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Toxic Substances Control

Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Federal Environmental

Pesticide Control Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Safe Drinking Water

Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and the Surface Mining

Control and Reclamation Act. And, the most important piece of environmental

legislation in our history, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was

signed into law on January 1, 1970. NEPA came about in response to the same

public pressure which later produced Earth Day.”

Now, 45 years after that first Earth Day, we are in dire need of a new critical mass. While we face many of the same problems as our citizens of two generations past, we also face many new ones: increasing nuclear threat, increasingly severe impacts from climate change, invasive species disrupting natural systems, deteriorating political environments in many regions of the world, increasing corruption, sieges on democracy, increased illnesses as a result of toxics, contamination and pollutants, heightened misinformation and more. As The Climate Reality Project and many of those in its Climate Leader networks have proven, we have reason to hope that the world has hit a turning point and that critical mass is assembling once more. Organizations like GreenLearning Canada Foundation have taken up the mission to accomplish the first major challenge, educating the broader public. Others, like The Climate Reality Project, strive to take educated and motivated leaders and empower them to maximize their impact potential for positive change. The rest of this report details some of the learning, primary messages, and overall experience from the notes and reflections of (and some research by) one participant, GreenLearning Canada Associate Elaine Ho. Elaine was a participant in the Climate Reality Leadership Corps Training in Toronto (Mississauga) from July 9-10, 2015, as well as a partial participant (half the day) at the optional Day of Action on July 11. Contact Elaine with questions or comments at [email protected].

Background to The Climate Reality Project Soon after An Inconvenient Truth premiered in 2006, it became the highest grossing documentary of all time, reaching an audience of about 5 million people. Over the next year Al Gore trained his first 1,000 Americans (plus 21 Canadians) to be able to engage and empower their communities by acquiring skills in presentation and storytelling. The reason for this focus was to engage the general public, but more so to influence those in positions of power. In March 2008 he said the following in a TED Talk, New thinking on the climate crisis:

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“As important as it is to change the lightbulbs, it’s more important to change

the laws… when we change our behaviour in our everyday lives we sometimes

leave out the citizenship part, and the democracy part. In order to be

optimistic about this we have to become incredibly active as citizens in our

democracy. In order to solve the climate crisis, we have to solve the

democracy crisis, which we have.”

Nearly a decade later the documentary remains among the top grossing documentaries of all time and The Climate Reality Project hosts an involved community of more than 7,800 volunteer climate leaders trained by Gore. Among other projects and achievements, these leaders have presented to more than 7.3 million people around the world.

The Toronto 2015 Leadership Corps Training, Day 1 The Climate Reality Project hosted a

Leadership Corps Training program at the International Centre in Mississauga from July 9-10, with July 11 being an optional Day of Action. Part of the opening session on both days was an acknowledgement that we were all being hosted on the traditional lands of the Mississaugas of New Credit, and so Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge

Keeper Garry Sault (photo above) offered us welcome, shared a short traditional story, and also thanked us for what we are doing to protect Mother Earth. The traditional opening was a first in The Climate Reality’s programme, and it was well-received. It was one of our first indicators that the tides are changing, as socio-cultural expectations are shifting. Our first session, The Climate Reality Project: The Road to Paris, discussed the viability of current solutions as we move towards COP21, the Climate Summit, in November/December. One of the main issues presented in this talk was that of perception. For example, the perception of political leaders that tackling climate change will be injurious to their political careers, which is a real concern for most in positions of political influence. Four pillars of communication can aid in building support for climate action by these individuals:

1. Keep it current; 2. Communicate urgency; 3. Demonstrate it is solvable; and 4. Prove such actions are cleaner and good for the economy (e.g. renewable energy

transition). Another issue is the persistent voice of climate deniers, who are so few in number and yet receive far too much public attention. The reality is that there were more than 10,000 articles

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on climate science from 1991-2012; only 0.2% reject climate change. In Canada, the majority of people (54%) have global climate change as their top concern, with the North Korean nuclear program as second on the list (47% of population) and international economic instability as third (45%). In regards to solutions, renewable energy (in particular, electricity) generation will be a key aspect of our future. Massive regulatory barriers stall progress and maintain higher-than-necessary costs, though increased private (and, to a lesser extent, public) investment has ensured development in this area continues. This relates to Al Gore’s 2008 TED Talk, which he reiterated at the Toronto training, that “in order to solve climate crisis, attention must be paid to addressing the democracy crisis.” Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimated $270-300 billion in investment increased generated capacity from renewables by 0.6%; to quickly transition to a renewable energy-based society we need an annual growth rate of 2.5%, which would require $1 trillion in global investment. In 2014 the International Energy Agency concluded “the largest share of current investment, more than $1 trillion per year, is related to the extraction and transport of fossil fuels, oil refining and the construction of fossil fuel-fired power plants 1.” Despite this prioritization, the cost of renewables has come down. Alberta Oil magazine published an infographic demonstrating cost reductions in wind and solar of approximately 58% and 78% (respectively) from 2009 to 20142. Bloomberg New Energy Finance shared a visual displaying the growing trend in support of renewable energy options for new energy installations (graph below). The energy tipping point occurred in 2013, the first year in which more renewable energy was implemented globally than new plants that burn fossil fuels – 143 GW compared to 141 GW.

1 International Energy Agency – World Energy Investment Outlook 2014 Factsheet Overview: https://www.iea.org/media/140603_WEOinvestment_Factsheets.pdf 2 Alberta Oil Magazine – With Global Investment in Renewables Lagging, Will 2050 Come Too Soon?: http://www.albertaoilmagazine.com/2015/07/supply-and-demand-renewable-electricity/

https://www.iea.org/media/140603_WEOinvestment_Factsheets.pdf

http://www.albertaoilmagazine.com/2015/07/supply-and-demand-renewable-electricity/

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Bloomberg New Energy Finance, in Fossil Fuels Just Lost the Race Against Renewables, demonstrates power

generation capacity additions (GW) for fossil fuels and clean energy.

Looking forward at COP21, we were reminded about how critical this year’s talks will be. Over the past two years we have entered a ‘tipping point’ in global action towards social and environmental changes, as observed by many leaders in The Climate Reality Project network. Touted by The Guardian as “the world’s last best chance to reach an agreement on cutting carbon emissions3”, we cannot let the momentum of this movement slow down as a result of potential failure in Paris. Canada is one of the richest, most educated countries in the world and yet our Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) are among the least ambitious. Per the earlier discussion on political perception and will, one of three campaigns currently led by The Climate Reality Project includes ‘the world’s easiest decision’ – climate action. Part of this campaign, and one main purpose of the Leadership Corps Training, is to communicate a strong message to leaders (and the public) that action on climate and environmental health is a simple decision with either multiple shared benefits or massive negative ramifications. A compelling video offering an example of this message – The Next Generation Asks World Leaders at UN: Why Not Act on Climate Change? – can be found on YouTube4. Here the primary message is, “Why not now?” The Leadership Corps trainees were then briefed on how to share an effective story, and why stories are imperative to gaining support from an audience before even starting a presentation. This can be illustrated by a quote by Theodore Roosevelt: “People don't care how much you

3 The Guardian – The Guardian view on Paris 2015: the world’s last best chance to reach an agreement on cutting carbon emissions: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/01/guardian-view-paris-2015-last-best-chance-emissions-cut 4 Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtQyg1l3p9g

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/01/guardian-view-paris-2015-last-best-chance-emissions-cut

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/01/guardian-view-paris-2015-last-best-chance-emissions-cut

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtQyg1l3p9g

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know until they know how much you care.” We were each asked to share a story of our own, and as we did so we also shared our journey of how we got to where we are today, to the point of demonstrating leadership and passion to act. My story, and the making of, follows.

MY JOURNEY TO CLIMATE REALITY “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

~Theodore Roosevelt

Part 1 – the back story, pre-2012 When I was very young, we did not live a lavish lifestyle. We had no car, no house, and no cottage; there were no boats, overnight summer camps or annual (or seasonal) vacations. Recreation for us was to spend time playing in the dirt, observing and collecting insects and other critters. I grew to love the outdoors and the creatures that existed there – I even created a bug club in grade three to educate my peers about the importance of these critters, often using cookies as incentive to get the boys to participate (most of the girls did not like insects and so wouldn’t be swayed either way). Working as an Environmental Stewardship Ranger in 2006 confirmed my love of the outdoors, and also my interest in observing how people interact with it. From 2006-2007 I cofounded a renewable energy non-profit organization in my high school, SWITCH, around the same time I learned of An Inconvenient Truth and Al Gore’s training in the US. I remember thinking ‘I wish I could be one of those trainees’, but also thinking it would never be possible. Over the next few years, I was often woken up in the mornings by my mother frantically shaking newspaper articles at me saying it was up to me to change the world. In 2009 I was exposed to an inspiring field school (the Redfish School of Change, under GreenLearning Canada) as well as environmental politics, bringing me both inspiration and great anger after experiencing the United Nations Climate Conference, COP15/CMP5, in Copenhagen, Denmark. Still, hope was rekindled in 2012 when I was privileged to earn a trip to Kenya for a safari with my family and local camera club. Part 2 – my turning point, 2012 At the end of safari I took a few extra days to visit a rural Maasai village, Memiri Losho. There, my world was transformed by some of the most beautiful people I’ve ever known. On my first night in the community a young boy, not more than six years old, approached me with a small metal cup with milk fresh from the cow – his only meal of the day. He couldn’t speak English, but he raised his little hand as high as he could to offer me a share in his meal. Of course I couldn’t drink it, though I took and held it for a while, completely stunned at the selflessness of this exquisite child. He had just one thing in that moment, his cup of milk, and yet he wanted to share that with me, a complete stranger. We in Canada who have so much are doing so little to empower and aid communities like these (and, worse, we actively harm them via our industry and waste practices).

http://www.schoolofchange.ca/

https://www.facebook.com/LoshoMaasai?ref=bookmarks

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I returned home with a serious case of reverse-culture shock and a disdain for my own lifestyle. I reflected on my trip for a long time and eventually connected the experience back to my own childhood; at the end of the day, when we have nothing left to lose, all we have to cherish, love and depend on is the earth. And yet, with all that we do have – the money, the technology, the knowledge – we still do not have the will to act for the benefit of us all. And so I set to work. Part 3 – impacts and action, post-2012 With the help of others, I empowered the Losho community to improve their tourism industry (from one to two visits per year to the same or more per month), while also initiating educational (specifically, female education and sustainability awareness) and micro-economic projects (women’s bead cooperative, now selling to customers on four continents). I continued my work with previous organizations and volunteered where I could. I changed my Master’s thesis to analyze the impacts of youth in Canada over the previous 35 years, publishing a journal article from it in Futures in January 2015. In early 2015 I enrolled in two important courses at Ryerson University: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Policy. Ecotoxicology reiterated the impacts on human and animal (and environmental) health as a result of contamination and unbridled chemical experimentation, reinforcing that each of us – and our health – is a reflection of the health of the natural world. The policy course allowed us to further explore possibilities for political understanding and influence specific to environmental issues, and the final project allowed me to more deeply analyze the environmental political culture and activities in Canada in recent years. And so, eight years after I gave up on my dream to be part of the Climate Reality Leadership Corps, GreenLearning Canada Foundation sent me an email with an opportunity to attend the 2015 training in Toronto. In a twist of fate, the application had already closed but had been reopened for another two weeks. I sent my application in that night and a month later had completed one of the most inspiring and certainly the most proactive training programs I’d ever encountered. I look forward to implementing more than ten ‘Acts of Leadership’ from now until summer 2016 (of which the sharing of this report is one), and I aspire to be a mentor at future trainings.

THE SHIFT TO ACTION AND CLEAN TECH “Thirty years from now there will be a huge amount of oil - and no buyers. Oil

will be left in the ground. The Stone Age came to an end, not because we had

a lack of stones, and the oil age will come to an end not because we have a

lack of oil.”

~Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani, Saudi Arabia's oil minister 1962-1986

In Canada, one of the most common arguments in support of the Alberta oil sands is that our economy and the region’s jobs depend on them; however, the oil sands only make up about 2% of Canada’s GDP and the national beer manufacturing industry employs more people than the oil sands do. Support for high-polluting industries and projects such as these have

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created imbalances in earth’s systems and today it is unlikely one can locate a region that is not already feeling the impacts. For example, in Canada, $8.52 billion in insurance claims were paid from 2009-2014, the vast majority as a result of flood damage. Unfortunately, our past (and present) decisions mean we have committed to a level of unavoidable impacts regardless of what we do, and some believe the amount of warming we have committed to here in Canada (different regions will experience the implications differently) is a warming of about 4°C over the next 50 years. While it doesn’t sound like much, consider this: the global temperature difference between the last ice age and today is about five 5°C. In Toronto, this means we have committed to experiencing average daytime summer and winter temperatures of approximately 29°C and 3°C respectively. Winters will have little snow but may experience overnight freezing, resulting in daily freeze/thaw cycles (major implications on agriculture and infrastructure). In summer, it is important to note that heat stress occurs as a result of the humidex (“feels like”), not the actual temperature. The following is a table of temperatures and humidex temperatures5 in Toronto and Ottawa in 2014:

20

14

Mean temp* Highest temp* Mean humidex** Max humidex**

Toronto Ottawa Toronto Ottawa Toronto Ottawa Toronto Ottawa

May

14.6°C 14.6°C 30.1°C 28.8°C 15.6°C 15.6°C 41.3°C 38.8°C

Jun

20.3°C 19.6°C 29.8°C 30.1°C 24.1°C 23.0°C 40.8°C 41.3°C

Jul

20.7°C 19.9°C 30.3°C 31.0°C 24.7°C 23.5°C 41.7°C 43.1°C

Au

g

20.7°C 19.2°C 30.0°C 29.5°C 24.7°C 22.4°C 41.1°C 40.2°C

Sep

17.2°C 15.8°C 29.7°C 29.0°C 19.4°C 17.3°C 40.6°C 39.2°C

*Temperature data downloaded from Environment Canada’s historical weather data **Based on humidity 71%; humidex calculator using Environment Canada formula via OHCOW (footnote 5)

Given an average humidity of 71%, based on 1981-2010 data (humidly is likely to increase with temperature as warmer air can hold more moisture), if projections are correct (4°C warming in our region) Toronto summers would have an average humidex of 39.2°C or more. The

5 Access the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers’ humidex calculator here: http://www.ohcow.on.ca/uploads/heat-stress-calculator.html

http://www.ohcow.on.ca/uploads/heat-stress-calculator.html

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following is a table of likely 2065 temperatures and humidex temperatures in Toronto and Ottawa:

20

14

Mean temp* Highest temp* Mean humidex** Max humidex**

Toronto Ottawa Toronto Ottawa Toronto Ottawa Toronto Ottawa

May

18.6°C 18.6°C 34.1°C 32.8°C 21.5°C 21.5°C 49.6°C 46.8°C

Jun

24.3°C 23.6°C 33.8°C 34.1°C 30.7°C 29.5°C 48.9°C 49.6°C

Jul

24.7°C 23.9°C 34.3°C 35.0°C 31.4°C 30.0°C 50.0°C 51.6°C

Au

g

24.7°C 23.2°C 34.0°C 33.5°C 31.4°C 28.8°C 49.4°C 48.3°C

Sep

21.2°C 19.8°C 33.7°C 33.0°C 25.6°C 23.3°C 48.7°C 47.2°C

*Temperature data downloaded from Environment Canada’s historical weather data **Based on humidity 71%; humidex calculator using Environment Canada formula via OHCOW (footnote 5)

Note that the above humidex values were calculated using today’s average humidity – which is likely to increase in these regions. As an extreme example, our current highest humidity ratings can reach 97% each summer, which in the above examples would mean a maximum high humidex (using July values) of 57.8°C for Toronto and 59.66°C for Ottawa. The implications of this are severe since our bodies sweat to cool ourselves down; when outside temperature and humidity are high, sweat evaporation stops and the person can suffer from effects that range from heat rash to deadly heat stroke (which is a higher risk in humidex 40-45°C). A variety of other health issues also arise as temperatures increase. Of course, the production of food and (conventional) energy is also strained, often to the breaking point. In addition, severe economic impacts can be felt by society, as the amount of physical work that can be done in high-humidex conditions is drastically reduced. As an example, the Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers produced a humidex-based response guide6 (table below) based on the following two categories of work:

Humidex 1: unacclimatized workers doing moderate physical work or acclimatized workers doing heavy physical work; and

Humidex 2: unacclimatized workers doing moderate physical work or acclimatized workers doing light physical work.

6 Access the Humidex Based Heat Response Plan at: http://www.ohcow.on.ca/uploads/Resource/Humidex%20Based%20Heat%20Response%20Plan%20-%20June%2010%202014.pdf

http://www.ohcow.on.ca/uploads/Resource/Humidex%20Based%20Heat%20Response%20Plan%20-%20June%2010%202014.pdf

http://www.ohcow.on.ca/uploads/Resource/Humidex%20Based%20Heat%20Response%20Plan%20-%20June%2010%202014.pdf

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Fortunately, there is good news, even in Canada despite our propensity to promote and support ‘big oil’. Best practices from our nation are as follows:

1. British Columbia carbon pricing (currently at $5/ton CO2, to increase each year until it reaches the goal of $70/tCO2 in 2020).

2. Ontario coal power elimination: the closing of coal-fired plants was the single greatest reduction in CO2 emissions in all of Canada (and is part of the reason the current government is able to show environmental progress).

3. Ontario’s Green Energy Act (support for renewable energy development): Ontario is well on its way to going from 2% renewable energy in 2008 to 20% in 2020.

The better news is, if all we do is implement these three ‘best practices’ in policy across the country we would be within reach of meeting our international GHG reduction commitments. And this is just the start. Another emerging best practice is the international carbon trading market that was initiated by an agreement between Quebec (Canada) and California (USA); Ontario is likely to join this market in 2016. In addition to policy, there is perhaps even more hope to be found in industry/business. Insurance companies are changing their business models based on climate change, and as a result the businesses they insure are also changing their policies and structures, and are taking more action as a result. In terms of public activity, speaking engagements are decreasing as actions by listeners are increasing. The general tone is that ‘problems that are created by humans can be solved by humans’ (a reiteration of a John F. Kennedy quote). The increasingly common attitude in the face of climate deniers is “no-regrets action”, which simply (and

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correctly) states that the changes we’re trying to make are good things to do either way (depicted in the cartoon below).

There is increasing recognition that coalitions and partnerships are key; one may not listen to David Suzuki, but will listen to an economist, for example. In this way not only are people and organizations coming together to fight climate change, but new alliances where entities used to work independently now mean that shared resources and increased efficiency allows all parties to better implement their values and accomplish their goals in other areas as well. The economic argument is often used against climate action, though indisputable evidence is growing that the contrary is true (environmental sustainability = long-term economic prosperity). This is often as a result of (often perceived) high start-up costs of clean tech. Yet, as demonstrated on pages 5-6 of this report, this is no longer the case. In 2014 global CO2 plateaued due to increased renewable energy efficiency, energy conservation efforts and the cost of renewables like photovoltaics coming down in cost years ahead of schedule. Now, to address one of the biggest issues with renewable energy – intermittency – there are multiple energy storage options becoming available as well (fairly new and expensive, but an economy of scale is being developed); the Tesla Gigafactory (see images below), currently under construction, will by itself double the world’s supply of Li-Ion batteries – this tech too is years ahead of estimates. True, the manufacturing of Li-Ion batteries is not a clean business (similar to other ‘clean tech’), however they are more than 90% recyclable (typically 98%) and so long-term it is a much more preferably option.

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Left: Artist's render of the completed Gigafactory in Nevada. Right: the factory under construction February 18,

2015 (photo: James Glover, Reuters). In the US, a new photovoltaic panel is installed every four minutes. Globally, a new wind turbine is erected every 20 minutes. There are now more than 800 companies around the world offering a wide variety of clean tech solutions to our conventional energy habits. The annual growth rate for clean tech is about 6%, and half the revenue from the clean tech industry comes from exports. Perhaps even more interesting, about 70% of R&D investment since 2008 has come from SMEs – together constituting the largest R&D investment to date. By 2016 it is projected that half the world’s GDP will have a carbon tax; last year (2014) alone an additional ten countries came on board. The first oil well opened about 150 years ago (only 1.5 lifetimes!) and the industry has literally transformed the world we live in. In Canada, 81% of all greenhouse gas emissions comes from energy. But this information is enormously hopeful: we have so many increasingly feasible solutions to conventional energy – in all of transportation, heating/cooling, and electricity – and so all we have to do is implement our choices of such solutions to drastically decrease our impact on a changing world. The critical mass mentioned earlier is what will push our decision-makers to the point of compliance to the public demand.

The Toronto 2015 Leadership Corps Training, Day 2

MORNING WITH KATHLEEN WYNNE AND AL GORE Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne was scheduled to do the morning

keynote address in addition to a question and answer period with Al Gore.

However, we were pleasantly surprised when she surprised us over

breakfast, having come an hour early to meet and mingle with the climate

leaders in training. Her talk was inspiring as she demonstrated strength and

commitment to the necessary actions we must take here in Ontario and in

Canada. She echoed the general sense that we have hit a tipping point in

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technology, costs and social power. She shared that 84% of Canadians believe a country as

technologically progressive and wealthy as ours is obligated to take the lead in addressing the

climate issue (per Canada2020 research).

Premier Wynne described her three main programs for tackling climate change. The first was

to close all coal plants and the passing of a law to ensure that it is permanent. President

Obama is following suit, having stated the following:

“If someone wants to build a new coal plant… it will bankrupt them”.

The closing of Ontario’s coal plants, as the single biggest CO2 reduction in Canada, is the reason

Canada’s government can boast about carbon dioxide emission reductions. Al Gore later joked

about the Federal government taking credit for carbon dioxide reductions by Ontario as a result

of Premier Wynne’s leadership. The Premier responded (in different words) with a comment

I’ve learned and lived by over the past eight years:

“It doesn’t matter who takes the credit, or even why the implementers did it.

The important thing is it’s getting done.”

Second is to explore cap and trade opportunities regarding CO2 emissions, such as the trading

system currently in place between California and Quebec. Third, Wynne has plans for

sustainable economic growth via the electrification of transportation and investing in clean

technologies. After her opening address Premier Wynne sat down for some questions by Al

Gore; two are outlined below.

1. What are some obstacles you have to overcome in order to lead like you do?

Resistance to solutions. Oftentimes people think of the issues as a face-off between the

environment and the economy. This should not be the case, as properly managed and

implemented measures boost the economy. British Columbia is a prime example; despite what

the nay-sayers said, not only did their economy maintain but it grew after the carbon tax was

put in place.

Timing concerns; “now is not the time”. In the face of a growing unemployed or

underemployed population, increasing global instability, wavering international relations (in

some cases), and rising food prices, some would argue now is not the time to focus on ‘future’

issues like climate change. In response, Wynn says “there is never a right time, and so the time

is now.” People use the same complaint when talking about action on anti-poverty measures.

The truth of the matter is, given the current momentum, technological capability, pricing and

social attitude, now is the perfect – and the best – time.

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Political fear (as discussed earlier). This is a big contributing factor to the federal government’s

inaction. It is our job as citizens to pressure the government, especially on the road to Paris.

Bad information and misinformation. On both sides of the debate there are many lobby groups

misinforming the public, and also a lot of bad information out there that people accept too

quickly without scrutiny. In addition, there are processes in place that sometimes prevent the

truth about certain issues from coming to light (e.g. muting of scientists). To illustrate the

severity of this point, Al Gore quoted a line from the book The Road Less Travelled: “Evil is the

absence of truth.” Wynne talked about the importance of groups striving to share the truth

(listing The Smog Blog as an example) as well as the importance of allies in ensuring the

appropriate information is shared and action is done (using the example of the cement

industry, Ontario’s biggest ally in cap and trade).

2. How can the public be more effective at influencing elected officials?

Wynne vocalized several things people can and should do that would really put pressure on

elected officials, given the critical mass:

Set expectations lower (example: Copenhagen Accord deemed as failure because

expectations set so high and could not be achieved in that time)

Activists and lobbyists must know more than the politicians

Talk to elected officials in their offices

The citizens need to talk to each other; when an elected official goes out into society,

they hear what people talk about and how they talk about it (i.e. they want to hear it

from their friends’ kids)

There are 59 ridings in Ontario and all should be tackled; conservative ridings need “a

little extra TLC” (they cannot have the nerve anymore to say we shouldn’t take action)

Perhaps the most heavily stressed recommendation she had was to talk to the MPPs (local

representatives), and/or to organize presentations to them and their offices.

After the premier left, Gore provided some insight into our own questions. On the topic of

geoengineering, he believed that while some activities under this category – e.g. painting

surfaces white – others that may have catastrophic impacts if they fail are not worth the risk.

The analogy he used was one of an engineer who is rocking a boat; geoengineering in this

scenario is like attempting to re-engineer the waves instead of stopping the rocking. Gore

points out we sometimes trust too much in technology and focus too little on what we can do

to prevent the need for technology to clean up our mess.

For example, while carbon capture and storage (CCS) can be great (though it has its share of

failures, like attempting to store carbon in ocean algae, expecting it to sink down into the

depths… it did not sink down, just released the carbon again), trees and soils are way more

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effective carbon sinks; why not decrease the amount of trees cut and soils degraded? He

pointed out that the Canadian government is spending $250 million per year to subsidize CCS

technology developed by an oil company to capture and store CO2 with the end goal of turning

it back into oil.

On the topic of alternative energy sources, Gore had a few things to say as well. First, he

believes geoexchange technologies (heating and cooling buildings via ground loops) should be

used in all housing and other building developments. Second, photovoltaics are the short-term

solution. Third, efficiency (demand management) is the best long-term solution, coupled with

wind and solar and the like. In the past, Gore promoted biofuels. He has since observed and

learned that even when they are managed to perfection (and this is rare) very little CO2 is

reduced, and in fact the practice can often increase emissions. Also, we need crop land to feed

people. He believes there may be a breakthrough using agri-waste, but this is yet to be

determined.

In regards to nuclear energy, Gore sees potential but also serious implications and problems.

For example, costs of building nuclear facilities increase every year. Also, and perhaps more

unsettling, there is evidence that every nuclear (weapons) program in the world has been or is

connected to a nuclear reactor (energy) program.

When asked how we can control CO2 emissions, Gore offered the ideal scenario of a carbon tax

combined with regulation and cap and trade. Carbon taxes are the most direct and effective

way to reduce the burning of CO2, though are most effective when combined with cap and

trade. It is a political issue since the public (and opponents) consider it as a tax increase, when

that is really not necessarily the case. The issue with carbon taxes is that they cannot really be

global, whereas cap and trade systems can be (and in some cases are) implemented as a global

market (e.g. California, Quebec and Ontario; China and the EU are possible). Regulation refers

to statutes like the Clean Air Act, which allowed President Obama to mandate a carbon

reduction (the Supreme Court upheld this power).

Gore was also posed a question that related to how people can exert pressure on elected

officials in a non-partisan way. Parts of his response are as follows:

Be prepared to really follow through, and use a two-part message expressing what you

want and the following two implications:

o If you agree, I’ll get others to support you via [actions you will take that you can

really follow through on]…

o If you don’t agree, I’ll make sure you are defeated.

Learn and know more than the person you are trying to convince;

Be kind, but persistent;

Form coalitions;

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Don’t let loud people shut down the conversation or intimidate you into silence or

passivism;

Fear (by politician) of looking silly or ignorant manifests over time; and

Some people will just not stop or will persist against you. Respectfully, don’t take the

time and don’t give them or allow them to have a voice.

And, of course, we stressed once again that we should not be discouraged by the doom and

gloom story. “We WILL win this thing, together!” Proof exists that we already are.

FINAL THOUGHTS FROM CLIMATE REALITY LEADERS Within the handful of inspiring and educational presentations that afternoon, most of

which were geared towards making the new leaders more effective in delivering their message

and implementing their actions, there were some points and stories worth sharing here in this

report.

First, how to engage others, whether for the purpose of action or the important educational

component. The main point here is to be a solutions ambassador. Use the storytelling

technique of presenting the challenge/threat, our choices and the many solutions or

opportunities – each equally weighted at about one third of the story. Not enough people

know about the progress we have experienced on all (local, national and global) scales. People

need a reason to join you, other than the threat, and children need to start their life knowing

they still have a future.

The story needs to be more about ‘us’; we hear a lot about the tragic impacts on other

communities – the poor people in other countries – and while this is an important narrative, it

is not enough to make people feel personally connected to the story. We need to generate the

moral call to action for people to care, which means illustrating a perspective that brings the

story back to “I” – ‘this is the science and this is how it makes me feel.” Additionally, we need

to meet people where they’re at; if they are not ready to talk about climate change, don’t. Talk

instead about health, or food security, or any number of other topics as they can eventually be

led to understand the systemic ties. One of our presenters, Cara Pike, Executive Director of

Climate Access, expressed the following sentiment: “We’re living it right now, and that’s why

it’s so hard to see.”

It is also important to recognize that individual actions, while intended to break climate action

down into manageable bite sized activities, can actually be disempowering. There is little to no

support for individual actions, and they often do not provide priorities (i.e. you get a laundry list

of things you can do at home), do not provide clarity and can be overwhelming at times.

Collective action is the key to success.

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Finally, we need to bring forgiveness, not blame, into the narrative. We need to acknowledge

what we’ve done, admit it was pretty cool, but knowing what we know now we agree it’s time

to say goodbye.

Looking forward to Paris, Canada’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions are far too

low, falling well below any other developed country’s INDCs. Climate Reality will host a

multiple Days of Action, global petitions (liveearth.org), a ‘24hrs of Reality’ watch party, and

more. For more information on what you can do, visit www.climatereality.ca and click “Get

Involved.”

If you are an educator or an environmental leader who finds themselves frequently improving

the quality of information people receive on climate and other environmental issues,

GreenLearning Canada Foundation has a plethora of resources and information available online

and at no cost: visit www.greenlearning.ca.

Conclusion “After the final no there comes a yes and on that yes the future world

depends.”

~Wallace Stevens, excerpt from poem The Well Dressed Man with a Beard

Canada is one of the richest nations in the world, is the ninth largest CO2 emitter – the 1st largest per person; this means we can also be one of the biggest change agents. Premier Wynne reiterated the sentiments expressed on the first page of this report, that we need to not only think about our needs and wants today, but that of (seven) future generations. Some of the final remarks of President Gore were inspiring. He advised us not to lose touch with our personal passion, as that is what people will remember, feel and judge us on. He also reminded us of the story of NASA’s first moon landing. It was a ten-year mission said to be impossible, and believed by many to be a waste of money. Yet, 8.5 years later it was achieved. The average age of system engineers was 26 years, and they had made the decision to pursue this “impossible” thing at age 18 – and succeeded ahead of schedule. Young people need to know they don’t need to wait for anyone or anything. And so, though the road ahead is not straight and smooth (e.g. in Canada, oil and gas make up 28% of total exports; how to replace this fairly and quickly?), but there is reason to be optimistic regarding our future and the success of the climate movement. To conclude this section I quote three questions posed (theoretically) to the trainees by Al Gore:

“MUST WE CHANGE? YES.”

“CAN WE CHANGE? YES.”

“WILL WE CHANGE?”

liveearth.org

http://www.climatereality.ca/

http://www.greenlearning.ca/

The story of tomorrow: We will win!

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