News Release

Groups Call for YTG Leadership on Climate Change

Caribou Commons Project, CPAWS-Yukon, and Yukon Conservation Society

December 9, 2004 – Whitehorse – Conservation groups in the Yukon are calling on the Yukon Territorial Government (YTG) today to immediately show leadership on climate change – and to commit to developing and implementing a comprehensive climate change policy by the end of 2005. At a time when strong action and leadership is needed, the Government of the Yukon has no plan on either climate change or green energy. Meanwhile, YTG is continuing to encourage harmful fossil fuel development in the Yukon such as oil and gas, coal mining and coal-bed methane.

The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, the result of four years of work by more than 250 scientists, confirmed recently that climate change is not a futuristic science fiction scenario – but a catastrophe that is already affecting the northern environment and the people who live there. One of the assessment’s conclusions was: “The Arctic is extremely vulnerable to observed and predicted climate change and its impacts. The Arctic is now experiencing some of the most rapid and severe climate change on earth. Over the next hundred years climate change is expected to accelerate, contributing to major physical, ecological, social and economic changes, many of which have already begun.”

Despite the seriousness and urgency of the issue, the Yukon Government has no policy, or apparently any ideas on limiting the effects of climate change or living up to Canada’s Kyoto commitments.

“The Yukon should be a leader in reducing greenhouse gases and not a leader in producing them,” said Ken Madsen of the Caribou Commons Project. “Many Yukoners are taking their personal responsibility to reduce greenhouse gases seriously, but to date YTG has shown no leadership. Instead of working with Yukoners on a pro-active climate change plan for the Yukon, Premier Fentie prefers to spend his time rubbing shoulders with oil and gas industry lobbyists at costly conferences south of 60.”

Last week, Premier Fentie was in Houston with Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski at an oil and gas industry conference sponsored by controversial energy-industry giant Halliburton. Murkowski and the Bush administration are pushing hard to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil development. This would not only threaten the Porcupine caribou herd and the Gwich'in culture, but would access more fossil fuels and generate increased greenhouse gas emissions. Premier Fentie has been wishy-washy about the Yukon’s position about oil development in the Arctic Refuge.

“Our northern lands, wildlife and lifestyles are under siege from the related impacts of fossil fuel development and climate change,” said Jim Pojar of CPAWS-Yukon. “Climate change is already happening, and its effects will be most dramatic at high latitudes and high altitudes. Everyone is already being affected and the impacts will continue apace: melting icefields and permafrost; more forest fires and bark beetle epidemics and novel human diseases; more landslides, floods, storms and other extreme events; migrating treelines, burgeoning buckbrush; warmer stream temperatures and dislocated fisheries; fragmented wildlife populations struggling to survive unusual snow and altered seasonality. We humans will be forced to adapt and change our behavior. But our political leaders respond by shoveling more coal into the runaway locomotive.”

The Arctic Climate Impact Assessment warns that northern jurisdictions are already feeling the impact of global warming – and that things will only get worse unless we act now. The Arctic Ocean ice cover is thinning and shrinking. Glaciers in the Yukon are receding. Polar bears and caribou herds are at risk. The Gwich'in and other Arctic indigenous people are facing increasing difficulties in winter travel and traditional subsistence hunting.

“The Canadian North will experience climate change first and worst compared with the rest of Canada,” said Lewis Rifkind, the energy coordinator of the Yukon Conservation Society. “The Yukon should be leading the way in developing plans to reduce our own greenhouse gas emissions and in developing adaptation plans.”

By acting now to develop and implement a sound climate change plan, the Yukon can lead the way for the rest of North America. If we show that we can look beyond a four-year election cycle, we can make positive changes that will help safeguard the futures of our children.

Background Information

In 1992 Canada agreed to take action to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 6% below 1990 levels. Unfortunately, our emissions have not declined – they have increased dramatically since 1992. Canada is now further from its target than any other industrialized nation. Now that Russia has officially signed on to the Kyoto Accord, participating countries must get serious about their energy policies. Since the Yukon has no climate change plan, Yukoners do not have a clear idea of what we need to do to be a part of the Canadian plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions. It is clear however, that we should be de-emphasizing fossil fuel exploration and increasing investment in cleaner, safer energy alternatives.

It is estimated that more than $20 million was spent fighting forest fires in the 2004 forest fire season, the worst on record. The fires were a direct result of lightning and human carelessness during the unusually hot and dry summer – which was almost certainly the result of climate change. In 2004 alone, YTG has spent more than $500,000 on contracts relating to oil and gas exploration and development. This does not include the money spent by Premier Fentie and government ministers to fly around North America to assure the multinational oil and gas companies that the Yukon is open for fossil fuel business. Peter Carr, Premier Fentie’s Communication Advisor, was asked for details about travel by government ministers, and the exact amount spent by YTG on the 2004 firefighting season. The request went unanswered.

Ken Madsen
Caribou Commons Project
Telephone: (867) 668-7370

Jim Pojar
CPAWS-Yukon
Telephone: (867) 393-8080, ext. 2
E-mail: jpojar@cpawsyukon.org

Lewis Rifkind
Yukon Conservation Society
Telephone: (867) 668-5678