Climate change is a long-term shift in climate measured by changes in temperature, precipitation, wind, snow cover and other indicators. It can involve both changes in average conditions and changes in variability, including, for example, changes in extreme conditions. Climate change can be caused by natural processes, such as changes in the output of the sun and in the amount of volcanic dust in the atmosphere. It can also be affected by human activities. In particular, humans can change the composition of the atmosphere through activities such as burning fossil fuels (ex. coal, oil).

The build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is the primary cause for concern about climate change now and into the immediate future.

Air pollution is made of various chemicals and particles that contaminate the atmosphere around the earth. Clean air issues, such as smog and acid rain, primarily influence the lowest part of the atmosphere, which is also the zone of air we breathe. Clean air is compromised by air pollutants that come from a variety of sources such as industries and our vehicles. Air pollution can have significant direct and indirect impacts on our health, the environment and the economy. These impacts may be experienced near the source of the pollution, but some pollutants can also be transformed and transported great distances by the wind before falling back to the ground, water or land within our communities. To find out about air issues, visit Clean Air Online.

Greenhouse gases refer to gases in the atmosphere that absorb heat radiated from earth. Together, greenhouse gases act like a blanket reducing heat loss, similar to the way the glass of a greenhouse warms the air inside the greenhouse. This greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that creates warmer conditions on Earth and makes life, as we know it, possible. Concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere have grown significantly since pre-industrial times largely because of the burning of fossil fuels and permanent forest loss. The rise in greenhouse gas concentrations is amplifying the natural greenhouse effect and warming the planet, affecting wind patterns, precipitation, and storm events.

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific, interdisciplinary body that was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Association (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Program. It provides decision-makers and others with an objective source of information about climate change. Its role is to assess the latest scientific, technical and socio-economic literature produced worldwide relevant to understanding the risk of human-induced climate change, its observed and projected impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.

The IPCC regularly publishes its findings in reports that are reviewed and approved by experts and governments from around the world. The IPCC recently released its Fourth Assessment Report, Climate Change: 2007 and will be releasing its Fifth Assessment Report in 2014.

All Canadians need to get involved in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change, as well as air pollution. Here are some things that you can do:

• Make use of the Government’s public transit tax credit and increase your use of public transit to help reduce traffic congestion and air pollution in our cities, and greenhouse gas emissions that impact on our climate.
• Consult ecoENERGY’s personal vehicles program to help you choose more eco-friendly vehicles. 
• Take advantage of the ecoENERGY Retrofit program, which helps Canadians retrofit their homes, buildings and industrial processes.
• Support green business and encourage other businesses to switch to environmentally friendly practices.
• Purchase energy efficient products and vehicles and alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.

To learn about more energy-saving ideas, visit www.ecoaction.gc.ca.

The Government of Canada has developed an aggressive plan to tackle climate change by taking action to reduce greenhouse gases and to reduce air pollution. Our target is to reduce Canada’s emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. This approach is concrete and practical, and will result in real improvements to our climate and our environment.

The Government of Canada is committed to reducing GHG emissions from new vehicles. On April 1, 2010, Environment Canada released the proposed Passenger Automobile and Light Truck Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations. These tough new regulations align with the mandatory national standards of the United States beginning with the 2011 model year.

The Government’s comprehensive environmental agenda also includes:

• the ecoENERGY Initiatives, including home retrofit grants and funding for renewable power;
• the ecoTransport Strategy;
• support for public transit; and
• action to expand the production and use of biofuels.

In December 2007, the Government of Canada announced an investment of over $85 million for concrete measures to help Canadians adapt to a changing climate and its impacts on our health, infrastructure and northern communities.

These initiatives focus on:

• developing a pilot alert and response system to protect the health of Canadians from infectious disease;
• assessing key vulnerabilities and health impacts related to climate change in Northern/Inuit populations;
• improving predictions of climate changes in Canada; and
• disseminating management tools for adaptation and supporting the development and implementation of regional adaptation programs

Climate change refers to a long-term shift in climate, including temperature, precipitation, winds, and other indicators. This may vary from region to region. Global warming refers specifically to an increase in the global average surface temperature. Global warming is often misunderstood to imply that the world will warm uniformly. In fact, some areas of the world will warm more, while others will warm less than the global average. Some areas may even cool for a period of time.

The greenhouse effect describes the way that the atmosphere insulates the planet from heat loss, much like a blanket on our bed insulates our bodies from heat loss. The small concentrations of greenhouse gases that are naturally within the atmosphere allow most sunlight to pass through the atmosphere to heat the planet. However, these gases absorb much of the outgoing heat energy radiated by the earth itself, and return much of this energy back towards the surface. This keeps the surface much warmer than if they were absent. This process is referred to as the greenhouse effect because it resembles the role of glass in a greenhouse.

Changes in climate can be caused by natural events and processes and by human influences. However, since the Industrial Revolution began about 150 years ago, climate change due to human influences has increased significantly. Key human influences include changes in greenhouse gas concentrations, ozone depletion, air pollution and alterations in land use. Most of these influences alter the composition of the atmosphere and thereby affect the amount of heat energy escaping to space, although some also change the amount of sunlight reflected to space. The build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is the primary cause for concern about climate change over the coming century. Key natural factors include changes in the intensity of sunlight reaching the earth and in the concentration of volcanic dust, which reflects sunlight back to space. Both of these factors alter the amount of sunlight that is absorbed by the earth's climate system.

The burning of fossil fuels – primarily coal, oil and natural gas - currently accounts for between 70-90 percent of all human emissions of carbon dioxide, which is a major greenhouse gas. Fossil fuels are used for transportation, manufacturing, heating, cooling, electricity generation, and other applications. The remainder of the carbon dioxide emissions comes from human land use activities such as ranching, agriculture and the clearing and degradation of forests. Other primary sources of greenhouse gases include the production and transport of fossil fuels, agricultural activities, waste management and industrial processes.

Many of the most costly impacts of climate change--in terms of both life and property--will result from more frequent extreme weather and associated natural disasters, such as tornadoes, heat waves, droughts and floods.

A warming climate in Canada will have impacts on water quantity and quality across the country. For example, in the Great Lakes basin, climate models predict decreases in annual streamflow and lake levels.  More frequent heavy downpours may cause localized flooding and overwhelm current sewage treatment facilities with increased volumes of stormwater and sewage runoff.

In the Prairies, water levels in ponds, lakes and dugouts are forecast to decline, leading to changes in water chemistry, which will mean less water for irrigation for crops, livestock and drinking water in some rural regions.

Scientific projections indicate that climate change could affect the health and well-being of Canadians in a number of ways. A few of these predicted results include: increased smog and heat waves resulting in more temperature-related illness and death; the spread of infectious diseases such as malaria‚ dengue and yellow fever into Canada as insects carrying these diseases migrate northward with the warming climate; and the quality and the quantity of drinking water could decline as water sources in some areas become threatened by drought.

Hokkaido, Japan in July 2008, G8 leaders agreed to work towards a reduction of at least 50 percent in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as well as the goal of developed countries reducing emissions of greenhouse gases in aggregate by 80 percent or more by 2050. G8 leaders also agreed to implement ambitious economy-wide mid-term goals to achieve absolute emissions reductions. Canada has committed to achieving a 17 percent reduction in its greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

Achieving these ambitious emission reductions while continuing to grow the global economy will require the effective participation of all major emitters and the development and deployment of clean energy and transportation technologies.

Even with dramatic action to reduce emissions, the global climate will continue to change in the next two decades in response to past emissions.  That is why the Government of Canada is investing now to help Canadians and developing countries adapt to the impacts of a changing climate.

The Convention on Climate Change is an international treaty that sets an overall framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle the challenges posed by climate change. 

The Convention, which entered into force on March 21, 1994 has near universal membership with 191 countries and one regional organization (the European Economic Community) having ratified.

Under the Convention, governments:

• gather and share information on greenhouse gas emissions, national policies and best practices;
• launch national strategies for addressing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to expected impacts, including the provision of financial and technological support to developing countries ; and
• cooperate in preparing for adaptation to the impacts of climate change.

For more information, visit the UNFCCC website at http://unfccc.int/2860.php

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The defining feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted on Dec. 11, 1997 and entered into force on Feb. 16, 2005. One-hundred-and-eighty-four Parties of the Convention have ratified the Protocol to date.

The Government of Canada has put a tremendous amount of effort into its domestic plan to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. We are also committed to working constructively with our international partners towards a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol.

For more information on Canada’s Climate Change Plan as required by the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act visit: http://www.ec.gc.ca/doc/ed-es/p_123/pre_eng.htm.

COP stands for the Conference of Parties.” The word ‘conference’ refers to an association or organization of parties, rather than a meeting or gathering.

The Conference of Parties is the supreme body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It currently meets once a year to review the Convention's progress and establish the rules of its implementation. 

For more information, you can go to the UNFCCC website at http://unfccc.int/2860.php.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference is open only to Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), observer states, United Nations bodies and agencies and non-governmental organizations who have been formally admitted as observers.  Accredited media can also attend.  For detailed information on conference Parties and observers, you can visit http://unfccc.int/parties_and_observers/items/2704.php

As a signatory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Canada is a Party of COP and participates in annual COP sessions and negotiations.

At COP 15, the Canadian delegation presented Canada’s position on climate change and participated in international negotiations and discussions about various climate change issues, including those under the Bali Action Plan.

The 15^th Conference of the Parties culminated in the Copenhagen Accord, a significant breakthrough in the global effort to address climate change. Canada will continue to work constructively in 2010 to implement the Copenhagen Accord and to complete the negotiations under the UNFCCC for a comprehensive, legally binding post-2012 agreement.

The Government of Canada remains committed to reducing Canada's total greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020.

The Government of Canada will continue to support, and promote clean energy by providing funding for research in clean energy technologies such as carbon capture and storage. Since 2006, the Government of Canada has invested close to $10 billion in green infrastructure, energy efficiency, clean energy technologies and the production of cleaner energy and cleaner fuels.

The Clean Energy Fund will support large-scale carbon capture and storage demonstration projects as well as smaller-scale demonstration projects of renewable and alternative energy technologies. Three carbon capture and storage projects have already been announced in Alberta, totaling up to $466 million from the fund.

On April 1, 2010, Environment Canada released the proposed Passenger Automobile and Light Truck Greenhouse Gas Emission Regulations. These tough new regulations align with the mandatory national standards of the United States beginning with the 2011 model year.

We also continue to work with the United States on the Clean Energy Dialogue, which has led to enhanced collaboration on the development of clean energy science and technology to reduce greenhouse gases and combat climate change.

• Canada-U.S. collaboration under the CED is being advanced in three key areas:
  o        clean energy research and development;
  o        the development and deployment of clean energy technologies; and,
  o        building a more efficient electricity grid based on clean and renewable energy.