Citizens across the globe agree that we need to address climate change.
of people across the globe and 82% of Canadians agree that climate change is happening.
of global citizens realize that humans are causing or contributing to climate change including ~80% of Canadians. This number has been increasing over time but it still lower than what the physics and math of climate tells us is true.
The science indicates that most, if not ALL, of the current changes in climate patterns, (i.e. changes from the normal background of natural weather events and patterns, seasonality and long-term shifts predicted from natural forces), are due to human activities. These human activities are mostly related to our dependence on fossil carbon from coal, oil, and natural gas.
At least
of climate scientists have known this for decades. A more recent analysis shows that more than 99.9% of peer-reviewed scientific papers agree that climate change is mainly caused by humans.
of global citizens, including 65% of Canadians want a rapid transition away from fossil fuels towards renewables to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the worst impacts of climate change.
Majorities of citizens around the globe now agree — we need to decarbonize.
It is not the ‘whether’, ‘what’, or ‘why’ of the climate crisis that are being debated, but rather the ‘how’, ‘realistic when’, and ‘who’ of emissions reduction, and therefore the ‘realistic when’ of achieving net zero.
The science tells us that we must have deep and rapid reductions in fossil fuel use and that we can have no new fossil fuel development projects if we want to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and protect the world for future generations. It is a race against time and we are not on track yet.
Those that want to delay action will say that it is not realistic or desirable to shift quickly. Don’t be swayed by their delay tactics. A rapid energy shift is extremely challenging and complicated but it is possible and less damaging and expensive than delayed action.
It’s true that you would be hard pressed to find an environmental organization that disagrees with the urgent need for climate action.
However, the agreement goes far beyond environmental organizations. Below you can find a sample list of other governmental and non-governmental organizations as well as leaders in non-environmental disciplines and industries.
Many of the organizations below don’t just agree with the fact that human activity is causing a climate crisis and the need to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they are actively working on climate change mitigation, climate adaptation, helping those adversely impacted by the climate crisis and managing both the physical risks of climate change for different regions/populations/economic sectors and the risks we need to manage through the transition to clean energy.
– there are many more but here is a sample:
The World Trade Organization (WTO) — Trade and climate change
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) — State Action Plans and Assistance
International Labour Organization — Climate Change
World Health Organization — Climate change
UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) — Climate Change
International Telecommunication Union (ITU) — Environment and climate change
World Intellectual Property Organization — Climate Change and Intellectual Property
World Meteorological Organization
International Atomic Energy Association — Climate change
Food and Agriculture Organization — Climate Change
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) — Tackling the climate crisis together
World Bank — Climate Change
International Monetary Fund (IMF) — Global Warming
International Finance Corporation (IFC) — Climate Business
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision — The effects of climate change-related risks on banks: a literature review (BIS)
(critical to the transition and our highly influential neighbour)
NASA — Climate Change
USAid — Environment, Energy, and Infrastructure
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) — Climate Solutions
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) — Climate Change
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Climate risk should be considered in housing decisions
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau — Statement of CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, Member, FDIC Board of Directors, on the Final Guidance Regarding Climate-related Risks
Department of Defense — Tackling the Climate Crisis
Department of Energy — Combating the Climate Crisis
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) — Climate Change and Health Equity
Agriculture and Agri-food Canada — Environment and sustainability in agriculture
Office of the Auditor General of Canada — A changing climate poses real risks for Canadians and the planet
Climate change and the Bank of Canada
Business Development Bank of Canada — Climate-related risks: How to prepare your business
Canada Development Investment Corporation — CDEV reaches a milestone in its sustainability journey with the release of its inaugural Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) report
Canada Energy Regulator — Canada’s Energy Future
Canada Lands Company — Strategic Plan
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation — Housing and climate change
Export Development Canada — Export Development Canada releases new Climate Change Policy
Department of Finance Canada — Sustainable Finance Action Council
Health Canada — Climate change and health
Infrastructure Canada — Investing in Canada Plan funding stream: Green infrastructure
Defence Canada — Climate Change
Defence Canada — Defence Climate and Sustainability Strategy 2023-2027
Natural Resources Canada — Climate change: Adapting to impacts and reducing emissions
Supreme Court of Canada — References re Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act
“The Supreme Court also pointed out that all of the parties agree that global climate change is real. It’s caused by greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities and it poses a grave threat to the future of humanity.”
Transport Canada — 2020 to 2023 Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy
that climate change poses economic risks
that urgent climate action is needed
The Economists’ Statement on Climate Change, signed by more than 2,600 economists (including 19 Nobel laureates) was published in 1997, prior to the Kyoto Protocol. It remains the largest public statement in the history of the economics profession.
The Stern Review of The Economics of Climate Change
Economists’ Statement on Carbon Dividends Organized by the Climate Leadership Council
Economists’ Statement on Carbon Dividends
How have economists thought about climate change?
Gauging Economic Consensus on Climate Change
Academic influence top 10 influential economists today (as of nov 2023) agree that urgent climate action is needed
Paul Krugman — Nobel Laureate
Joseph Stiglitz — Nobel Laureate
Thomas Piketty — French Legion medal of Honour
Esther Duflo — Nobel Laureate
Abhijit Banerjee — Nobel Laureate
Amartya Sen — Nobel Laureate
Jeffrey Sachs — World Sustainability Award
Gabriel Zucman — Best Young Economist in France Award
Robert Solow — Nobel Laureate
George Akerlof — Nobel Laureate
that we need to address the climate crisis
that we need to address the climate crisis.
Conservatives on Climate Change
At a climate conference for conservatives, urgency for action meets caution on messaging
Americans Divided Over Direction of Biden’s Climate Change Policies
Brian Mulroney, former Canadian Prime Minister, was a strong advocate for environmental policy and climate action
A 2021 poll showed that 58% of Conservatives in Canada were somewhat or very concerned about climate change (all other parties except the People’s Party ranged from 62-90%)
The Fossil Fuel Industry no longer denies the fact of the climate crisis or that emissions reductions are needed to address it. But the only viable paths to Net Zero require a fossil fuel phase-out.
OPEC
“Climate change is an undeniable issue affecting each and every one of us on this planet. Indeed it is one of the greatest challenges facing mankind both today and in the future.
The need to address climate change is not only clear in recent reports of the international scientific community, but also in increasingly extreme weather patterns and other disastrous events, which are already affecting many vulnerable communities worldwide.”
World Energy Council – 2007
“The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has recently confirmed that the evidence for global warming is unequivocal and the Stern Report has argued that early action to combat climate change makes economic sense.”
International Gas Union
“CO2 is a key contributor to the climate crises. A large portion is coming from the energy sector’s power and heat, that uses fossil fuels. The energy sector is one of the main economic pillars of our economy and can play a crucial role in fighting the climate crises, directly and indirectly.”
Gas Technology Institute
“GTI Energy is an organization dedicated to advancing the economy-wide transformation needed to deeply decarbonize energy systems while supplying the energy needed to support rising standards of living and economic growth worldwide.”
American Petroleum Institute
“API and its members commit to delivering solutions that reduce the risks of climate change while meeting society’s growing energy needs. We support global action that drives greenhouse gas emissions reductions and economic development.”
American Gas Association
“Climate change is a defining challenge across the globe, and natural gas, natural gas utilities, and the delivery infrastructure are essential to meeting our nation’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals. AGA engaged ICF to conduct the first comprehensive analysis exploring natural gas utility pathways to achieve net-zero emissions.”
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers
“Continued investment in innovation and technology is driving down emissions intensity and positions our industry as part of the global solution needed to tackle the global climate challenge. Climate change is a serious and real issue. Our industry is well positioned with expertise in both science and technology to reduce emissions.”
We need to transition everything we possibly can with the clean solutions we have now.
Remember 1.5°C means more disasters than what we are seeing today — at ~1.2°C — and we are currently not even on track to hit that rapidly fading best case scenario.
We have no choice but to overcome the behavioural and political barriers that are preventing us from addressing this crisis. It is here now and our children and those already impacted deserve better.
1
The energy transition is happening.
2
The energy transition is technologically and economically feasible.
3
The energy transition is financially prudent — in addition to the relatively lower costs of action versus inaction, fossil fuels will be stranded assets as we transition to clean energy so new fossil fuel infrastructure (e.g. new gas lines) that tries to lock-in fossil fuel use into the future is wasted money.
4
The energy transition can be accelerated to align with the Net Zero 2050 goals (though the window for 1.5°C is rapidly closing) with more ambitious action.
Read more in the section, The World is Already Doing More That You May Know.
5
The energy transition is a major part of our efforts to address climate change — but it is not the only transition.
Note that, increasingly — as we delay action — we also need to rely more heavily on solutions that are not even viable at scale yet — like carbon capture and storage (CCS) — and new, risky solutions with consequences we can’t anticipate — like geoengineering. The sooner we act, the less risky and more orderly the transition.
We need people to elect/re-elect leaders that can lead us out of this crisis and hold them to account.
We need to finance the energy transition and stop financing the crisis.
And we need to step into a sustainable future ourselves.
To a large extent, in Canada, the solutions for a sustainable future are already here waiting for us. We just need to act.
Remember, there are no paths in which we, particularly in the developed world, keep using fossil fuels into the future at anywhere near the levels we do today. All paths require that we switch away from fossil fuels wherever possible, as soon as possible. Everyone everywhere all at once. Don’t wait.
Last updated September 2024
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