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The British government, through its high commission in Ottawa, has given a Canadian environmental think-tank nearly $60,000 for research that included a report advocating a shift away from fossil fuel industries like the Alberta oil sands, money that critics say represents an attempt to intrude into Canada’s domestic environmental policy.
“The British government boasts about its network of staff trying to convince other countries to take on the kind of climate policies we have, and the very expensive climate policies we have,” said Matthew Sinclair of the U.K. Taxpayers’ Alliance.
“We’ve seen this pattern of them trying to convince mostly developing countries to take this sort of stuff up. It was just incredible to see that it was being applied to a country like Canada, a country which by almost any standard we expect would make up its own mind on this kind of thing.”
A freedom of information request filed by Mr. Sinclair found that the British government had given Calgary-based Pembina Institute $14,300 for a March report called “Reducing Pollution, Creating Jobs” that found the Conservative government’s Economic Action Plan would have created an extra 150,000 jobs if it had invested more in green industries.
In the long-term, the report found, a shift away from fossil-fuel industries, such as the Alberta oil sands, and toward green industries would create more jobs than would be lost. Along with the report, the British high commission spent another $14,000 on a “Thought Forum” in 2009 that “highlight[ed] energy efficiency and renewable technology opportunities” and another
$9,500 to help the institute host cap-and-trade discussions between Canadian environmental groups and energy companies.
Commission spokesman Nathan Skolski said the British government views climate change as a threat to the U.K.’s prosperity and security, in keeping with more traditional diplomatic missions. The funding to the Pembina Institute is part of the British foreign office’s “distinctive and innovative climate diplomacy strategy” to convince nations like Canada to get more aggressive with their greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
“It is … vital that we persuade other countries to reduce their emissions,” Mr. Skolski said in an e-mail. “The fundamental purpose of foreign policy is to shift the political debate where it really matters, to create the political space for leaders and negotiators to reach agreement. It is therefore essential that the [foreign office] devotes resources to this issue.”
Last week, the British government revealed it has spent nearly $1-billion since 2006 on trying to convince other countries to sign on to international climate change agreements and promote green technologies in developing nations, part of its domestic commitment to cutting carbon emissions by 80% by 2050.
Pembina, highly critical of oil sands development, has called for a moratorium on new projects.
‘These groups are really purporting themselves to represent Canadian voices and Canadian interests and that’s not really the case if they’re getting their funding not only from foreign donations, but from foreign governments’
Pembina executive director Ed Whittingham said the British government had no say on the content of its green jobs report. “We had full licence and we produced it and the views in it are those of the authors and the Pembina Institute’s and not those of the British High Commission,” Mr. Whittingham said.
The think-tank has also recently worked with the Norwegian embassy to host a talk on that country’s approach to climate change and is regularly in contact with the U.S. and Japanese embassies over environmental issues, he said. “We live in an international world. Canada invites investors here to do business that’s in the interest of Canada and I think us promoting debate and discussion of the type we do is in the interests of Canada. I don’t care where the money comes from.”
But Kathryn Marshall, spokeswoman for Alberta oil sands advocate Ethicaloil.org, said the British funding toward Pembina’s research is more evidence of her group’s long standing complaint that Canada’s anti-oil sands activists are really “highly paid foreign lobby groups.”
“These groups are really purporting themselves to represent Canadian voices and Canadian interests and that’s not really the case if they’re getting their funding not only from foreign donations, but from foreign governments,” she said. “These groups have so much influence on public policy and public debate.”
The U.K.’s current high commissioner in Canada, Andrew Pocock, has actively promoted his country’s vision of climate change policy and would likely see funding a Canadian think-tank to produce a report on green jobs along the same lines as more traditional diplomatic missions, said Inger Weibust, an assistant professor of international affairs at Carleton University who specializes in environmental regulation.
“In terms of what they’re trying to do, I don’t think it’s any different from what diplomats ordinarily do behind closed doors, bend the ear of significant decision-makers. It’s just the means have differed,” she said. “If anything, it’s probably preferable because it’s much more transparent. They’re not lobbying behind closed doors. They’re putting data out there and it’s going into the public conversation.” Anti-oil sands think-tank being funded by U.K. | News | National Post
OK is why is the UK sending highly paid foreign lobby groups to Canada since We only ship to the States why are they getting in between us and if the British government revealed it has spent nearly $1-billion since 2006 why not just pay down or National debt.
The British just got kicked out of the EU and now they are getting in between Canada and the US relations... As of late China was on the attack when Canada was at koyto and now the British who are supposed to be our allies are spending billions undermining the way we choose to go with our country.
Why is it every Country seems to be trying to stop North America from becoming more energy independant.
The British government boasts about its network of staff trying to convince other countries to take on the kind of climate policies we have, and the very expensive climate policies we have,” said Matthew Sinclair of the U.K. Taxpayers’ Alliance.
Maybe we don't want to take on expensive climate policies they have because they are deep in debt and the Eurozone is in deep economic trouble while North
America still can ride it out if we avoid adding new "very expensive climate policies" in the middle of a major economic downturn.
OTTAWA — The Canadian government rejected new pressure from the European Union on Friday to pry loose funds from the International Monetary Fund to help EU leaders deal with the continent’s debt crisis.
Statements from both Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s office, in response to the announcement of the latest EU rescue plan, made clear the government has no interest in having Canadian taxpayers provide some aid via the Washington-based IMF for Europe’s rescue.
“Europe has to demonstrate that it has used all its resources before it calls on countries outside of Europe, including contributions by countries at the IMF, primarily because the IMF is there to help out poor countries of the world and the European countries are relatively well off,” Mr. Flaherty told reporters in Toronto.
Mr. Harper’s office reiterated the prime minister’s message when he attended the G20 leaders’ summit in France last month.
“Europe is a rich continent. We do not see a need for external resources to come from Canadian taxpayers,” said Andrew MacDougall, Harper’s associate director of communications.
European Union leaders, in a two-day meeting viewed by some as a crucial gathering to save the euro currency, announced plans Friday to negotiate a new treaty resulting in deeper fiscal policy integration.
The deal had one notable exception, as Britain was the only one of the 27 EU member nations to refuse to participate in the negotiations.
European leaders also made some changes to the European Stability Mechanism, a permanent bailout fund now due to take force in mid-2012.
The ESM’s capacity will be capped at 500-billion euros, or $682-billion, which was less than many observers expected.
EU leaders, led by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, also announced that EU countries would provide up to 200-billion euros ($273-billion) in bilateral loans to the IMF.
Economist Fredrik Erixon, author of a Belgium-based think-tank’s report earlier this week urging the EU to plea for IMF aid, said Friday’s announcement is an obvious cry for help across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
“That’s a strong signal to other countries, especially those with bigger reserves, that they will be asked to do the same,” said Mr. Erixon, director of the European Centre for International Political Economy.
“No doubt the EU’s own contribution will be bigger than the contribution from the U.S. and China, but the EU move will now force other IMF members to respond to an invitation to help beef up IMF resources to enable it to assist in the event Italy or any other bigger economy will end up in trouble.”
Mr. Erixon, in his 10-page analysis of the crisis, wrote that it is a “charade” to believe that the ESM will have the firepower to address crises in countries the size of Italy, Spain and France.
Mr. Erixon said in an interview that Canada should reconsider its refusal to help Europe through the IMF.
If the latest effort fails and the 17-nation eurozone falls apart the consequences will be worse than the global meltdown of 2008, he warned.
“Canada, like others, will be directly and indirectly hit in its trade with Europe and the world, and even if export growth is bigger in relation with emerging Asian than it is with Europe, Europe is one of the Canada’s bigger trading partners,” he said in an email exchange.
“The bank sector problems that would follow a crash would also hit Canadian banks. So it is illusory to believe that any country could be insulated from a euro crash.”
Mr. Flaherty gave a lukewarm endorsement of Europe’s latest move.
“They’ve made progress in the last two days in Europe. I think they need to go farther,” he said.
“We think there needs to be monitoring of those countries that have sovereign debt issues that are critical.”
You don't sound very Canadian. Have 1:16 Maisto models of a '65 convertible and a '69 hardtop 'Goat'. That said, cars are insanity. INSANITY! You are way over-invested in the machinations of the oil industry. Let it go.
OK is why is the UK sending highly paid foreign lobby groups to Canada since We only ship to the States why are they getting in between us and if the British government revealed it has spent nearly $1-billion since 2006 why not just pay down or National debt.
The British just got kicked out of the EU and now they are getting in between Canada and the US relations... As of late China was on the attack when Canada was at koyto and now the British who are supposed to be our allies are spending billions undermining the way we choose to go with our country.
Why is it every Country seems to be trying to stop North America from becoming more energy independant.
The British government boasts about its network of staff trying to convince other countries to take on the kind of climate policies we have, and the very expensive climate policies we have,” said Matthew Sinclair of the U.K. Taxpayers’ Alliance.
Maybe we don't want to take on expensive climate policies they have because they are deep in debt and the Eurozone is in deep economic trouble while North
America still can ride it out if we avoid adding new "very expensive climate policies" in the middle of a major economic downturn.
There is no such thing as energy independence. The we already export more of our oil from Canada as it is than any other place. And regardless, the oil coming out of Canada goes the same place that every other barrel of oil produced elsewhere goes...on the world market.
Why is it every Country seems to be trying to stop North America from becoming more energy independant.
Because we can be, there is perhaps three countries in this world with vast fossil fuel resources compared to their needs that can be energy independent. The US, Canada and Russia. There are many oil rich nations but they do not have the other resources necessary to be an economic power. Once the oil is gone they are toast.
If you take Spain for example renewable energy as a practical matter is necessary for the future, they have very little fossil fuel resources of their own. Same thing applies to China, if their current consumption of coal were to stabilize which is not going to happen they will burn through their domestic supply within the next 2 or 3 decades. Nearly every nation on this planet is facing the same issue and as fossil fuel energy becomes scarce their economies will falter if they have to compete against the US with an enormous untapped supply. Stands to reason they would want to hobble the US.
Because the UK technically owns the land (all of Canada) and maybe they don't want the Canucks spoiling the damn place?
No they don't. The fact that the Queen on Canada is also the Queen of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland does not mean that Canada has any more legal ties to the UK than it does to Jamaica, Australia, or any other commonwealth country. The UK is quite justified in lobbying the way they are, however, as well all live on this earth together and our polluting effects the UK just as much as it does us. The fact is, we should be going about this whole oil sands business differently and the current government are just bought and paid for shills for the Energy industry, nothing more and nothing less. I can`t believe Americans are falling for the propaganda to, that Keystone pipeline is about Canada based oil producers selling the stuff through US ports to world markets so we can stop selling it to you for a discount. The thing will raise your oil prices and you take on all the risk of the pipelines leaking.
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