{"id":8959,"date":"2015-06-09T06:51:58","date_gmt":"2015-06-09T11:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=8959"},"modified":"2015-06-09T06:51:58","modified_gmt":"2015-06-09T11:51:58","slug":"the-g7-and-its-85-year-carbon-pledge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/olduvai.ca\/?p=8959","title":{"rendered":"The G7 and its 85\u2013year carbon pledge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The G7 and its 85\u2013year carbon pledge<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

The G7 gives itself a lifetime to fulfil its climate change promise<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you thought it was hard to keep up your New Year’s resolution, try keeping an 85-year pledge.<\/p>\n

That’s exactly what Canada and the other G7 countries are committing themselves to as they try to\u00a0get control of global greenhouse gases. While Canada failed on its\u00a0Kyoto<\/a>\u00a0agreement and\u00a0won’t meet<\/a>\u00a0its 2020 Copenhagen\u00a0target, that’s not stopping Prime Minister Stephen Harper from making even more\u00a0long-lived environmental pledges.<\/p>\n

First, a deep cut in carbon\u00a0emissions by 2050 and second,\u00a0an eventual end to\u00a0fossil fuel use\u00a0by 2100.<\/p>\n

At first glance, it’s praiseworthy. The world’s leading economies\u00a0commit\u00a0to\u00a0decarbon\u00a0the world economy. Some\u00a0environmental groups<\/a>\u00a0were quick to call the G7 announcement “groundbreaking,” although not everyone is as supportive and approving.<\/p>\n