Before I mention what helped me understand why Government (and all of us really) aren't moving faster on the climate crisis, lets address a related question. Why do we need to move faster on the climate crisis?

After a recent conversation with a friend I realized not everyone is asking, "why aren't we making faster progress on the climate crisis?". I started this page and posters because I wanted to help people like me who were struggling to understand this question. However, not everyone is like me, so lets talk a little about why we need to move faster on the climate crisis.

For a long time I didn't understand how urgent the situation is. I am still learning everyday new reasons for more urgent action. However, a big turning point for me was sometime between the end of 2018 and 2019, when my Dad told me about the then recent special report by the IPCC, "Global Warming of 1.5°C". Feel free to read it, but there is lots in there. The main point that I think is critical to understanding the scale of change and urgency needed can be read from the Summary For Policymakers document.

In model pathways with no or limited overshoot of 1.5°C, global net anthropogenic CO2 emissions decline by about 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 (40–60% interquartile range), reaching net zero around 2050 (2045–2055 interquartile range).

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That means, we need to nearly half our emissions globally by 2030. As of this writing this that is in 7 years from now. Additionally we then need to get to net zero by 2050. Or in other words, we can't just continue as we are and then drop to net zero at 2050. At that point we will have already shot way past the amount of emissions we can emit before we will exceed 1.5°C.

Ok, so how important is it to stay within 1.5°C? The main reason is that above 1.5°C (and even before in some cases) our natural systems, forests, oceans, ice, that are helping mitigate the climate crisis will start to drive it. Making it increasingly difficult to stop run away warming. I very recently also learned that managed Canadian forests (~60% of our forests) haven't been helping us reduce our CO2 emissions for quite some time and are actually driving CO2 levels up (think forest fires). See for example this CBC article from 2019. The managed Canadian forests system is one example of a natural system that has flipped to being a driver of the climate crisis. As we continue to warm increasingly more systems will flip to driving the climate crisis making it increasingly difficult to slow.

Ok, but are our global governments already handling things, are we already on our way to those large reductions of emissions we need? Especially in Canada and, to a lesser extent, the US our governments are not. In Europe, they are making more progress (see Climate Action Tracker - EU), but still not enough. If you look at the relatively new, large emitters like China who haven't contributed the bulk of the current atmospheric CO2, their emissions are growing rapidly. We are no where near on track, and we only have 7 years to half our emissions! Globally, based on current policies and actions, we are on track for about 2.7°C or more of warming by 2100, with continued warming into the future.

At this point, though you might still be digesting some of that information if it is new to you, you are probably getting an idea of the scale and urgency needed. However, one final point I would like to make, specifically with regard to Canada, since that is where I live, is how the largest contributors of our emissions have changed over the last 30 years. Emissions from electricity generation has decreased by about 45% (a significant contributor in 1990), while those from transportation and the oil & gas sector have increased to nearly completely offset those reductions (see the Canadian Government's own environment and climate change page on the "Economic sectors" tab).

Now that you are with me:

It can be very difficult to know how or what you can do to make meaningful change to adress the climate crisis. I have been thinking and searching for ways I can make a difference and I am still searching. One meaningful way to take action is to talk about the climate crisis. Extending the idea of talking about the climate crisis, I have decided to put up posters to help encourage that conversation more broadly. My hope is that posters will make the issue more visible in the real world and encourage people to talk about it, reducing the taboo around the topic. There are many ways to take action and I have found that finding ways that fit into my everyday life helped me take at least some small actions. The David Suzuki foundation has a list of ways you can take action and information about how to have climate conversations which aren't always easy.

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If you would like to put up posters in your local area feel free to download, modify, and or print copies of these posters to put up in your area. The poster is licensed by CC0 1.0 Universal.

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These posters were created using the free and open source vector graphics program Inkscape which can be used if you wish to modify the posters. Scalar vector graphic (svg) file of the posters are available which are best if you want to modify the posters. If you just want to print the posters as they are, a pdf file is likely what you want.

If you have listened or watched any considerable amount of Drilled, Climate Town, or What on Earth you likely have some understanding of the role the Fossil Fuel industry has played in delaying action on the climate crisis. One of the largest uses of fossil fuel is our transportation system. We have designed our cities for cars and not people. This design focus has many ramifications including increased maintenance costs of infrastructures, decreased quality of life, as well as the implications for the climate crisis. To learn more about these transportation and city design related issues see my other site about how cars ruin cities and how better cities are possible when we design with less focus on the car.