(The Canadian Press/Dave Chidley)

By Derek Craddock

CLIMATE CHANGE

‘It is scary’: Sask. environmentalists respond to EU climate report

Jan 12, 2022 | 8:00 AM

Another report on the effects of climate change was released this week and people across the world, including Saskatchewan, are growing more concerned.

The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service released a report Monday showing that 2021 was the fifth warmest year on record.

The report also mentioned that the last seven years were the world’s warmest “by a clear margin”.

The report stated 2021 had temperatures that were, on average, 1.1 to 1.2 degrees warmer than in previous years.

The news is alarming to environmentalists and climate change advocates across Saskatchewan, including Peter Prebble with the Saskatchewan Environmental Society.

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Prebble said the report was more than just a bunch of numbers, but that people in Saskatchewan and the Prairies truly felt the effects of climate change.

“It really impacted Saskatchewan with an exceptionally difficult drought,” Prebble said. “The key point I think about that drought is that it wasn’t just in Western Canada, it basically covered all western North America. So, it was very clear that it had a real climate change footprint as part of the cause of that drought.”

Prebble added the last year also brought the second hottest summer on record, as high-temperature records were shattered in many communities, including the Village of Lytton B.C. which hit a high of 49.6 degrees, the highest single-day temperature in Canadian history.

Meanwhile, Nancy Carswell with the Prince Albert Chapter of the Council of Canadians, didn’t hold back when asked about her thoughts on the report.

“It is scary. And it confirms what scientists have been warning us about all along.”

Carswell and the Council of Canadians helped organize a climate march late last year as they walked from the EA Rawlinson Centre for the Arts to Prince Albert City Hall to raise awareness on the issue of climate change.

She said despite international conferences and pledges to do more little has been done, which raises many questions.

“Why haven’t we gone to Net Zero buildings? Why haven’t we done that whole transition away from fossil fuels? Every time we leave it longer and longer, and leave it to the marketplace, especially, it’s not going to work.”

When talking about sacrifices, Carswell brought up some examples including moving away from cheap oil and seriously investing in renewable sources such as geothermal energy.

She added changing eating habits is also another sacrifice some must make.

“We think nothing of eating strawberries in January. They could be from a local greenhouse, but I don’t know any local greenhouses that bring in strawberries. And I don’t know any local greenhouses that would be on renewable energy.”

For Prebble, he agrees that more action needs to be done to make sure we don’t hit another temperature record for 2022.

“We need to make a major effort in Saskatchewan to be part of a global solution which means gradually phasing out fossil fuels in Western Canada and around the world and replacing it with safe renewable forms of energy.”

“We’re kind of in unprecedented temperatures in terms of global average temperature, and that’s resulting in more and more extreme weather events in Western Canada and right around the globe.”

During the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, known as COP26, global leaders agreed to accelerate action on climate change in the hopes of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 45 per cent by 2030.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @pa_craddock