'Some structural damage' from wildfire near Fort Nelson, B.C., mayor confirms
More than one home has been damaged or lost due to a massive wildfire outside of the B.C. community of Fort Nelson, the mayor confirmed Wednesday.
Environmentalist groups are sounding the alarm about a steep increase in the number of pro-plastic lobbyists at the UN pollution talks taking place this week.
Delegates from 175 nation states are in Ottawa to hammer out a binding global treaty to reduce the amount of plastic pollution that is overflowing in landfills, spilling into oceans and washing ashore.
Nearly 5,000 people are participating in the summit.
According to analysis by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), 196 lobbyists working for oil, gas and chemical companies are registered as observers for this round of negotiations. CIEL says that is a 37 per cent increase from the previous round of talks held in Kenya and that there may be more lobbyists participating in negotiations who are part of state delegations.
“It’s troubling that the industry and those responsible for polluting are part of the negotiating and influencing the outcome of these talks,” says Suzanne Smoke of the Indigenous People’s Caucus.
Most plastic is made from fossil fuels and some of the chemicals used in the process are toxic.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, more than 430 million tonnes of plastic are produced every year
While most nations agree that plastic pollution needs to end, there is disagreement on how to get there and how long it should take.
Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault leaves a news conference on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
Bethanie Carney-Almroth, a professor of ecotoxicology at the University of Gothenburg, says the lobbyists are actively blocking progress on plastic waste.
“What we find are commonly used techniques employed by industry and actors with conflict of interests to delay and block policy action. This includes providing misinformation, or misrepresenting science, cherry-picking data and producing false experts … and not providing a holistic understand of the impacts of plastics in the environment,” said Carney-Almroth, one of 58 scientists observing the negotiations in Ottawa.
Environmental groups say a cap on plastic production should be entrenched in the treaty as well as a ban on the most toxic chemicals in plastics.
Greenpeace International is calling for a 75 per cent reduction in global plastic production by 2040.
Graham Forbes, Greenpeace’s Global Plastics Campaign lead, says that the fossil fuel industry is investing “hundreds of billions of dollars” in new petrochemical plants to produce plastics for generations to come.
“We are clearly at unsustainable levels now and they are putting all their money behind plans to make the problem worse,” Forbes said.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC), which represents plastics manufacturers, says it is against a production cap.
“We believe in ending plastic pollution, not dealing with plastic production,” said Ross Eisenberg, the top lobbyist at the ACC.
Eisenberg says the ACC is against stopping the production of single use plastics such as food and beverage containers which make up more than half the plastic waste. Instead, the ACC supports helping all nations with their recycling efforts and designing better products that can be reused and recycled more efficiently.
“It’s called 'advanced recycling' or 'chemical recycling.' This is a technology that will make all those single-use plastics infinitely recyclable,” said Eisenberg.
Canada is one of 60 countries that support getting rid of non-essential single use plastics by 2040. Canada is also a major fossil fuel producer and, according to Environmental Defence Canada, ranks as the world’s 15th largest plastics producer.
As host of this UN round of talks, Canada is under pressure from environmental groups to take a leadership role in putting forward a strong treaty to reduce plastic pollution.
More than one home has been damaged or lost due to a massive wildfire outside of the B.C. community of Fort Nelson, the mayor confirmed Wednesday.
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
An 'unrepentant' YouTuber has been ordered to pay $350,000 in damages as compensation for a 'relentless' campaign of defamation waged online against a business owner and his company, the B.C. Supreme Court has ruled.
Chief Robert Michell says relief isn't the right word to describe his reaction as the search begins for unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school he attended in northern British Columbia.
While it's unclear what these closures might mean for the 27 restaurants in Canada, Red Lobster is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. this month.
A man from B.C.'s Lower Mainland has been sentenced to four years behind bars after shooting a sex worker in the back during a drug-fuelled 43rd birthday.
Nearly six dozen dogs were seized from a home Wednesday morning by the Winnipeg Humane Society. It is the largest known seizure of animals in the city’s history.
Of the $40-million Aiden Pleterski was handed over two years, documents show he invested just over one per cent and instead spent $15.9 million on "his personal lifestyle." The 25-year-old Oshawa, Ont. man was arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering on Tuesday.
A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring dozens more, according to an arrest report unsealed Wednesday.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.