net zero

A misguided way to transfer wealth in the US was spearheaded by climate change. The idea that replacing fossil fuels with wind and solar was a social program to transfer wealth at its heart with a cover story of saving the earth from climate change. This did not take hold in the US but in Canada it did. In the early 2000’s articles began to appear showing how increased carbon dioxide was warming the earth. By 2004 the UN got on board with climate activist to change laws to encourage the development of non-fossil fuels. In 2015, 130 countries met in Paris to sign a climate agreement to go to zero carbon by the year 2100. Next in 2018 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change changed the zero-carbon date to 2050. When people challenged these proposals, they were called climate deniers and accused of not caring about the earth. Somewhere along the way the whole process moved from science to politics and the first signs that this was a way to move money from one group to another with government agencies deciding who got what, where and how. What happened in the US was now exposed on a world-wide basis. There were early clues that something was amiss but they were ignored and the momentum of net zero won the day. When leading scientist said that the science was settled, good scientist recognized that science is never settled and always subject to change based on new information. While Biden signed on to the Paris Agreement, it was not confirmed by congress so one of the first things Trump did was rescind Bidens executive order. Canada, on the other hand, stayed with agreement and took further steps toward zero carbon. When Canada signed then PM Justin Trudeau said proudly, Canada is back and will save our grandchildren from climate change. How this was to be done was not discussed. For a country whose whole economy centered around natural gas and oil this seemed unlikely to happen. There followed a series of new laws demanding carbon taxes, emission controls and increased regulations on fossil fuels. In 2021 Canada passed into law the zero carbon rules. This led to legislation requiring all cars to be EV by 2035. The new PM in Canada Mark Carney has pledged to carry on the goals of net zero. This has led to threats by Western Provinces whose economies depend on oil and gas to object to the new laws. Alberta is currently signing a petition to separate from Canada.