Marlo Raynolds argues that the real challenge for Canada's Prime Minister is whether he is able to create a made-in-Canada climate plan — or leave it to American lawmakers to decide our climate and, therefore, economic policy.

Three consecutive environment ministers under Prime Minister Stephen Harper have failed to implement a single major policy to cut our growing emissions.

Climate change is the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced and yet to most Canadians the current and potential impacts feel far away. What many Canadians don't realize is that climate change is having a large impact in Canada right now. I am a Dene youth from the small town of Fort Good Hope, Northwest Territories. I am attending the UN Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen to communicate the concerns that my family, my people, and my culture are confronted with every single day.

When will governments get their act together on climate change? A huge body of scholarly research now exists on the science and economics of global warming. It shows that failure to limit our emissions would bring gigantic financial, human and environmental costs. It also shows that we still have time to reduce emissions enough to prevent the worst impacts, while continuing to grow our economies.

Some politicians worry about protecting "business as usual" in reducing national greenhouse gas emissions, but what Alberta needs is "good growth," not growth that is inherently unsustainable and ignores serious global issues and concerns. Alberta doesn't have to settle for "business as usual." We have a choice in this province: take control of our own destiny and lead, or be dragged into the future by forces beyond our control.

A report by the Pembina Institute and the David Suzuki Foundation found that Canada can meet an ambitious target to cut its greenhouse gas pollution while continuing to enjoy solid economic growth. By 2020, Canada's GDP would be 23 per cent larger than in 2010, and we would create nearly two million net new jobs. It's clear that Canada can be both green and prosperous. Science and economics both argue that we need stronger climate policies urgently. Now the politicians need to show that they're ready to step up to the plate.

Saskatchewan can cut its greenhouse gas pollution while creating nearly 50,000 net new jobs in the next decade, says a recent Pembina Institute/David Suzuki Foundation report. The provincial economy would grow by two per cent annually while meeting the federal government's current emissions target, producing a GDP 22 per cent higher in 2020 than in 2010. As well, Saskatchewan would gain more jobs while meeting that target than it would under business-as-usual.

Rising levels of greenhouse gas emissions and lack of mandatory reduction targets for industry mark Canada's continued failure to tackle global warming.

British Columbians have made it clear that they are committed to taking action on global warming. Emboldened by this support, the B.C. government has demonstrated continental leadership by legislating reductions in carbon pollution, shifting taxes away from British Columbians' income and onto pollution (reducing taxes on a good thing and increasing them on a bad one)...

Imagine that Canada's Minister of Defence got up one day and announced that all our military decisions will be made jointly with the United States from now on. Canada and the U.S. would use the same tactics and embrace the same goals.

Hard to picture, perhaps. But it's more or less the approach that Environment Minister Jim Prentice laid out in a speech in Toronto last month.

Canada was once again accused of blocking progress on the crucial question of targets for industrialized countries.

As Canada and other countries focus on the current economic crisis, the world continues to face another threat that's just as urgent, only even bigger and more long-lasting.

Canada's economy is in need of a jump-start. To reinvigorate our chilled economy, we need to diversify our economic base and create new jobs that will put money into the pockets of Canadian workers.

By Clare Demerse and Matthew Bramley
With the U.S. election looming, Washington seems ready to wake up from its long slumber on global warming. That gives Canada an important choice: do we want to lead the parade or fall meekly into line behind our neighbours to the south?

Prime Minister Stephen Harper took a weak climate plan into Canada's election and won himself a stronger minority government - but there's reason to doubt that his proposed greenhouse gas regulations will ever see the light of day.

At a time when we're flirting with climate disaster, Canada's political leaders have distracted us with a phoney war.

Even if you're a casual election observer, you've probably heard something about "carbon pricing" in this campaign. Because it's such a crucial way to cut Canada's greenhouse gas pollution, we decided to take a closer look at the major parties' commitments on carbon pricing.

From the chaos on Wall Street to the outbreak of listeriosis, Canadians have been hearing a lot about risk lately. It's emerged on the campaign trail as well, where Stephen Harper has called a tax on greenhouse gas pollution an "economic risk" to Canada. We can't assess the risk of acting on climate change without looking at the risk of climate change itself and the benefits of taking action.

This election seems to have many Canadians scratching their heads: What's it about? Who should I vote for? Why should I vote at all? The answers to these questions depend on whether you think the environment — and more particularly taking action on climate change right now — really matters.

British Columbia's carbon tax holds the potential to inspire a new vision: to transform the economy from the brown, carbon-based solutions of the past to the clean, green sustainable solutions of the future.