This year’s federal election will be about climate change. By massively attacking the current government on its carbon tax plan – a necessary but not sufficient response to the significant global threat of climate change – the Conservative Party has squarely placed the issue of climate change at the heart of the ballot question in October.

And now the New Democrats have stepped forward with a comprehensive plan to address climate and jobs that is realistic, thoughtful and speaks to the urgency required.

Multiple reports in the past year have stressed the necessity of ensuring that overall global average temperature rise stays below 1.5 degrees C if we are to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change (and the hundreds of billions of dollars of cost to governments and residents across Canada of increasing extreme events like wildfires, flooding and ice storms).

To do that, we need to act now – we know already the temperature increases in Canadian Arctic regions are transforming the area today, a clear indication of what will happen globally, soon.

As a global problem, addressing climate change requires a global solution. Canada must do its part and the NDP proposals do just that, first by making clear the urgency and declaring climate change an emergency to which the country must respond. Second, the plan relies on science – not politically based targets – to tell us what Canada’s share must be in order to accomplish a 1.5-degree world.

Globally, we have seen a similar approach amongst the leading cities of the world. Through the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group these cities asked the question: “What do we need to do in order to do our share to ensure that the world keeps within the 1.5 degree threshold that science mandates?” In the case of those cities, the answer was to peak emissions by 2020 towards carbon neutrality by 2050.

To date more than 80 of the worlds’ largest megacities have those actions underway. Many have already peaked emissions – Toronto, for example, based on actions started in 2007, is already 33-per-cent below 1990 levels of greenhouse gas emissions.

The NDP proposals build on these actions by addressing significant measures in energy efficiency in buildings, electrified transportation, and a carbon-free electricity grid.

Most importantly, the NDP addresses the direct connection between a change to our environmental systems and to change to our economic systems by proposing smart and comprehensive methods to create a just transition for affected workers.

The plan uses the potential of positive environmental changes to create significant numbers of new jobs. These strategies work – for example, the Vancouver economic commission is using the new energy efficient building codes in Vancouver to help spur the growth of new businesses in the construction field and to welcome foreign direct investment to supply high-efficiency materials to a construction sector required to meet significantly increasing thresholds of energy efficiency.

The Conservative Party may have been the first to define the election as being about a Canadian response to climate change. But the NDP are the first to respond with a comprehensive plan to address both the needs of the environment and the needs of Canadian workers in a realistic and meaningful way – a plan consistent with global best practices in addressing climate change.

Post-election, it might may well be in a position to ensure that these recommendations move forward. Hang onto your seats Canada. In October we’re going to decide whether our country is a global leader. Or not.

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David Miller is a former mayor of Toronto and a globally recognized authority on urban climate solutions.

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