Climate change is…

Climate change is accelerating and we are witnessing the increasing impacts of a more volatile planet. Experts overwhelmingly agree that global warming is caused by humans and burning fossil fuels will continue to accelerate and intensify climate disasters. The scientific consensus is clear – the extraction and consumption of fossil fuels pollutes the natural environment and deteriorates health. Climate change is an issue that directly impacts all of us, but marginalized populations (i.e. individuals experiencing homelessness, indigenous communities, and racialized communities) are disproportionately affected.

I call on officials elected to represent the people of Ontario to seriously consider environmental (climate change, greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion, pollution, deforestation), social (working conditions, local communities, health, diversity) and governance (executive pay, corruption, political lobbying, board diversity, tax strategy) factors when making future decisions.

Repealing the Climate Change Mitigation and Low-carbon Economy Act without a serious plan to mitigate reduce GHGs does catastrophic harm to our environment and surrounding communities. Without a process for ensuring that polluters pay, how are we to reach internationally set targets and save our environment? As a young person who hopes to live in a world with clean air and water, I know that Bill 4 (Cap and Trade Cancellation Act, 2018) is a careless decision for our province's financial portfolio and the wellbeing of its current and future residents, who deserve the opportunity to live with a future not limited by climate chaos. Going forward, the Ontario government should embrace a Carbon tax as it the future - one young people can live in.