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Maybe you can’t totally condemn local politicians for being concerned that a carbon tax may affect jobs.

Sure, worries from Ontario Premier Doug Ford or even Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe that a carbon tax will cost us jobs do seem mockable in the context of the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that the Earth only has about 12 years left to avert catastrophe unless we can limit global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius.

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“It’s a line in the sand and what it says to our species is that this is the moment and we must act now,” said Debra Roberts, a co-chair of the IPCC working group on impacts of climate change. “This is the largest clarion bell from the science community, and I hope it mobilizes people and dents the mood of complacency.”

However, the very definition of “global warming” makes it a global issue, far removed from the purview of local politicians. And, as mind-bogglingly parochial as it sounds, a carbon tax costing local politicians local jobs becomes far more pressing than news that another half-degree Celsius will significantly increase the risks of hurricanes, drought and floods, and add to poverty for hundreds of millions of people half a world away.