The Natural Disasters and Contributions of Canada to Global Warming

As of 2009, about 60.7% of the population, or 21.2 million people in Canada, own some type of motorized vehicle. With such a large population owning motorized vehicles, in addition to the various forms of exporting and importing goods such as the railway and airline, Canada contributes a noticeable amount of carbon emissions per year. The main exports of this country include coal, crude oil, and liquefied petroleum gases. These exports are transported from region to region with the assistance of the railway, airline, and pipelines.

As natural gas is the most profitable export for Canada, an increase in green transportation and non-motorized vehicles would certainly damage the economy and significantly reduce the annual income. However, Canada supports programs and initiatives that reduce greenhouse gases as much of their glaciers in the north are melting, affecting the daily lives of people who live there. In Canada, the most common environmental disasters include ice and snow storms, floods, and hurricanes. These disasters often cost a tremendous amount of money to recover from. These expenses mostly go towards rebuilding homes, buildings, and other vital infrastructure. An example of an environmental disaster in Canada is the Alberta flood, which occurred just last year and resulted in the total expense of 1.6 billion dollars. The displacement of 100,000 people, and the closure of part of the Trans-Canada highway were the unfortunate consequences of the flood.

Global warming is a very real and present danger that affects everyone in the world with problems such as melting ice caps and temperature increase. Global sea levels have risen by eight inches since 1870, and while this may not seem like a big number, it is enough to flood cities that are situated on coastlines. These floodings can lead to mass migrations to inner cities, causing problems of population pressure and other major issues. An increase in carbon emissions also creates a rise in temperature by one or two degrees. This minor change in temperature intensifies Africa’s already chronic water supply issue. Green transportation has the potential to prevent global warming from causing further harm. As of now, transportation methods such as cars, trains, and airplanes contribute fifteen percent of manmade carbon emissions. However, this number can be decreased if more countries adopt policies that encourage the growth of green vehicles, such as hybrid and electric cars. In addition, the prices of oil, a resource that everyone in the world depends on, have been rising exponentially and are causing increasing financial stress on the average consumer. This increase in prices means that the average consumer will have to spend more money on oil rather than other goods, thus affecting not only the general populace of a country but the country’s economy as well.

It has been statistically proven that cities, especially those in developed countries, contribute to the majority of the world’s greenhouse gases. For this reason, the United Nations strongly believes that cities have the most potential to reduce CO2 emissions on a large scale. The UNEP and UN-HABITAT have already begun working with CCCI (Cities and Climate Change Initiative) and SUD-Net (The Sustainable Urban Development Network). The UNEP and UN-HABITAT are also strongly endorsing the general population to use public transportation and non-motorized vehicles as a method for traveling. In this way, the UN believes it can reduce the number of motorized vehicles on the road by a drastic amount, thus decreasing the quantity of greenhouse gases produced. In addition to this, the UNEP, in partnership with the International Energy Agency, commenced the 50/50 Global Fuel Economy Initiative which strives to cut down two gigatonnes of CO2 emissions by saving six billion barrels of oil. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has a plan to replace the contemporary three-wheelers and scooters with electric ones in the major cities of India, due to its high population density. Lastly, in June of 2012, the UNEP launched a “Let’s Travel Together” Campaign at the Rio Summit and advertised green transportation with the help of numerous train, metro, bus, and car companies. They also gave away free prizes to Facebook users who helped support the campaign, further increasing motivation for endorsing sustainable transportation.

Canada’s main source of income and its economy is largely based on the export of oil. With an increase in green transportation, the use of oil will significantly decrease, potentially harming Canada’s economy. Additionally, the glaciers and ice caps in the northern part of this region are melting at an exponential rate. Taking into account all of these reasons, Canada is in favor of a gradual increase in green transportation so that it can work on finding other resources or exports to sustain its economy. To increase the popularity of green transportation, governments and NGOs can advertise the benefits of this new form of transportation and how it can help create a better world for the future. It is also crucial that UNEP focuses on educating the population on how converting to non-motorized vehicles can help save them hundreds and thousands of dollars on gas each year. This can significantly benefit the middle and lower classes across the world. In order to perform all of these actions, Canada strongly advocates the creation of a new NGO that solely focuses on educating the mass population on the benefits of green transportation and on advertising it, so the number of people who own non-motorized vehicles gradually increases. Canada also recognizes that we as a global community need to have a plan for developing countries that are not as urbanized and reliant on transportation as the developed nations. Canada believes that we must prevent the onset of motorized transportation in undeveloped areas because, as we can all see, it is extremely difficult to eliminate them once they appear.

Disasters could occur to anyone, anywhere in the world. In the past decade alone, over 1.7 trillion dollars were spent on disaster relief and over 3 billion people were affected by these disasters worldwide. These disasters occur without warning, so the UNEP must have programs, frameworks, and guidelines that are fast in responding as well as effective in disaster relief.

For a significant amount of time, the UNEP has been traveling to various locations in the world, inspecting the natural resources available. Based on this data and information collected, the UNEP devises peacekeeping operations that pertain to the specific area. In this way, the UNEP has set up frameworks and guidelines for a large number of locations, making disaster relief extremely effective. The UNEP has also promoted diplomacy between different regions of the world. This is important because in such a way, two regions or states can share resources, responding to an environmental disaster much more effectively without the aid of NGOs such as the Red Cross and the UNEP.

Canada has had its fair share of natural disasters, mostly ranging from snowstorms to floods. While prioritizing our nation’s environmental security, we also recognize that other countries commonly experience environmental disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. For all these reasons, Canada proposes the creation of multiple NGOs, each with a specific purpose. For example, one NGO could focus on earthquakes, and another could focus on floods. By doing so, we can ensure quick and efficient response times, as each NGO solely focuses on one type of disaster, further increasing the effectiveness of the aid provided. In addition, Canada feels the need for governments to increase diplomacy with their surrounding nations, with a main focus on sharing resources in case of an emergency. Better relations with neighboring countries can facilitate more aid during times of need.

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