Scheer Downright Trumpian In Describing His Climate Non-Plan: "Sixty Pages! 11,000 Words!"

[hatrack]

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer’s climate policy sets a new benchmark for dishonest political posturing. Scheer’s “A Real Plan to Protect Our Environment” was served up to counter criticism that the party had no climate plan. Instead, it proved the critics right.

Scheer celebrated the report in an oddly Trumpian way. “Sixty pages! 11,000 words!” he said at the launch, as if all those empty words showed how serious the Conservatives were about climate change. The plan was really 33 large pages. And 16 of them were taken up with big photos of Scheer. Looking at corn, looking at carrots, holding a crab, throwing a rock into a lake.

In those 11,000 words, there isn’t one mention of the effects of climate change. There are a lot of attacks on the Liberals, a pledge to respect hunters and fight invasive species, and photos of a Canada goose and polar bear. But no mention of urgency or crisis. (Unsurprising, as the Conservatives in fact voted against this month’s motion to declare a climate emergency.) The document is an expensive collection of words and photos that suggest Scheer’s advisors thought he needed to pretend to have a climate policy. It’s an insult to anyone who believes the climate crisis is real, or even anyone who expects some honesty from political leaders. And it’s certainly not a plan to address global warming.

A plan has actions and timelines. It has annual outcomes — the expected results — so people can decide if it’s worthwhile and working. Scheer’s document has none of those. There is not one specific commitment to reduce emissions, no targets. He acknowledges the 2015 Paris Agreement, and says “The Paris targets are Conservative targets.” But he offers no serious plan to meet them.*

EDIT

https://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2019/06/28/Andrew-Scheer-Real-Bad-Climate-Plan/

[calimary]

1. Just another CON job. Remember: you can't spell "conservative" without the "con" part.