Maxime Bernier says he's 'the only politician in Ottawa' against Paris Accord

People’s Party Leader Maxime Bernier says he is against the Paris Accord, a high-profile UN framework that deals with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation.

“Actually, I’m the only politician in Ottawa who is against the Paris Accord,” Bernier told CTV News in an interview.

He went on to call the Trudeau government “hypocrites” for signing on to a deal with targets that he says they will fail to meet.

“They’re saying to people that they will achieve the targets of the Paris Accord and every expert, they know that they won’t. So why are you signing an agreement if you’re not able to achieve the goals that you said that you will achieve?” Bernier said.

“So that’s why we are against the Paris Accord.”

The deal entered into force on Nov. 4, 2016, a little under a year after its conception at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris. Its central aim is to keep the global temperature from rising well below two degrees Celsius. Many countries set targets to toughen their climate action by 2020.

A recently released report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, however, warned that unless countries ratchet up their environmental efforts, the world could experience disastrous consequences of climate change even sooner than previously thought.

This isn’t the first time Bernier has spoken out against the Paris Accord. In an Oct. 7 tweet, Bernier said the Paris accord is “just a giant Marxist wealth redistribution scheme.”

Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer signalled his support for the Paris Accord when he affirmed in an April interview with CTV that his yet-to-be-unveiled climate plan will meet Paris targets.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has also pledged to put Canada “back on track” to meet the Paris Accord commitments.

Environment Commissioner Julie Gelfand revealed in her 2017 fall report that the federal government is poised to miss the mark on its 2020 climate targets. When Evan Solomon, host of CTV’s Question Period, pressed Environment Minister Catherine McKenna on Oct. 27 for an update on whether Canada can reduce emissions in time to meet the goals outlined in the Paris agreement, the minister wouldn’t say.

Instead, she highlighted different components of the government’s environmental initiatives.

Bernier has yet to reveal his party’s plan to deal with climate change.

              

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