OTTAWA – Green Party of Canada Leader Elizabeth May (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands) is asking House of Commons Speaker Geoff Regan to convene an emergency parliamentary debate on the alarming findings in the recent Special Report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

“We need to carefully weigh what the experts on the IPCC are telling us,” said Ms. May. “We have as little as 10 years before the window to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees closes forever. This means that to avoid catastrophic outcomes, every nation must reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 45 per cent of 2010 levels by 2030.”

In her letter to Speaker Regan, Ms. May says that to achieve such an ambitious target, massive societal and economic decisions must be made in the very near term. “This is why Parliament must convene now to debate this urgent question and review this scientific report in a non-partisan spirit. We must genuinely seek to educate each other.”

She said that even though Canada was the first industrialized country at COP21 to advance 1.5 degrees as the appropriate goal, we are not on track to fulfill our commitment. “We owe it to Canadians and the international community, not to mention our children, to ensure that we are doing everything in our power to meet the challenges of this global emergency. Time is not on our side.”

If the Speaker approves Ms. May’s request, the House will go to emergency debate until midnight either today or tomorrow. Ms. May’s letter to Speaker Regan can be found here.

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For further information or to arrange an interview:

Debra Eindiguer

613-240-8921

