Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is amping up her war of words with federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault for playing footsie with China over emissions while playing hardball back home..On Wednesday, The Western Standard reported Guilbeault will be in Beijing from Aug. 26 to 31 for a meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED)..The group is ostensibly touted as an independent think tank even though members of its executive council are all high-ranking members of the Communist Party. .Guilbeault is listed as 'Executive Vice Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the CCICED' alongside chairman Ding Xuexiang, who stands just behind Xi Jinping in the communist party hierarchy. .Ding is currently the first vice-premier of the People's Republic of China and the sixth-ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee. .He has also been leader of the Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs since March 2023, and is responsible for implementing repressive social policies in the former British colony..According to Wikipedia, he is considered a close confidant of the CCP general secretary, serving on Xi's staff in Shanghai before following him to Beijing..He served as director of the General Secretary’s Office under Xi from 2013 to 2023 and the director of the CCP General Office after 2017. He was also a member of the 19th Party Politburo, and a Secretary of the Party Secretariat between 2017 and 2022..In July, 2023, China and the European Union held the Fourth EU-China High Level Environment and Climate Dialogue, which he also chaired. .At that meeting both sides reaffirmed commitments to cooperate at the upcoming COP28 meeting in Dubai — a cause near and dear to Guilbeault’s heart — and pledged to work toward stopping climate change and biodiversity loss, the latter of which was orchestrated by Guilbeault at the World Biodiversity Summit in Montreal last December..It’s not clear if Guilbeault is representing Canada in an official capacity as environment minister or in a consulting role..Not that it matters much to Smith.."The whole world is being confronted by the triple crises of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss," said a statement from Environment and Climate Change Canada. "These are crises that know no geopolitical borders and require urgent international cooperation. Addressing global environmental challenges requires China's engagement.".Needless to say, Smith was none too impressed and let everyone know it on X (formerly Twitter). .Especially given the fact China has until 2060 — not 2035 — to meet net zero under its own Paris Accord commitments. .“I am concerned why the Minister wants to force Alberta to 2035 but is okay with China getting there by 2060..China presently derives about two thirds of its electricity from coal and burns about half of all the coal produced on the planet doing it. It is also the world’s largest coal importer even though the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agrees that natural gas is at least 50% cleaner..By comparison about 89% of Alberta’s grid is powered by gas. The last coal plant will be retired this year.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is amping up her war of words with federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault for playing footsie with China over emissions while playing hardball back home..On Wednesday, The Western Standard reported Guilbeault will be in Beijing from Aug. 26 to 31 for a meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED)..The group is ostensibly touted as an independent think tank even though members of its executive council are all high-ranking members of the Communist Party. .Guilbeault is listed as 'Executive Vice Chairperson of the Executive Committee of the CCICED' alongside chairman Ding Xuexiang, who stands just behind Xi Jinping in the communist party hierarchy. .Ding is currently the first vice-premier of the People's Republic of China and the sixth-ranked member of the Politburo Standing Committee. .He has also been leader of the Central Leading Group on Hong Kong and Macau Affairs since March 2023, and is responsible for implementing repressive social policies in the former British colony..According to Wikipedia, he is considered a close confidant of the CCP general secretary, serving on Xi's staff in Shanghai before following him to Beijing..He served as director of the General Secretary’s Office under Xi from 2013 to 2023 and the director of the CCP General Office after 2017. He was also a member of the 19th Party Politburo, and a Secretary of the Party Secretariat between 2017 and 2022..In July, 2023, China and the European Union held the Fourth EU-China High Level Environment and Climate Dialogue, which he also chaired. .At that meeting both sides reaffirmed commitments to cooperate at the upcoming COP28 meeting in Dubai — a cause near and dear to Guilbeault’s heart — and pledged to work toward stopping climate change and biodiversity loss, the latter of which was orchestrated by Guilbeault at the World Biodiversity Summit in Montreal last December..It’s not clear if Guilbeault is representing Canada in an official capacity as environment minister or in a consulting role..Not that it matters much to Smith.."The whole world is being confronted by the triple crises of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss," said a statement from Environment and Climate Change Canada. "These are crises that know no geopolitical borders and require urgent international cooperation. Addressing global environmental challenges requires China's engagement.".Needless to say, Smith was none too impressed and let everyone know it on X (formerly Twitter). .Especially given the fact China has until 2060 — not 2035 — to meet net zero under its own Paris Accord commitments. .“I am concerned why the Minister wants to force Alberta to 2035 but is okay with China getting there by 2060..China presently derives about two thirds of its electricity from coal and burns about half of all the coal produced on the planet doing it. It is also the world’s largest coal importer even though the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change agrees that natural gas is at least 50% cleaner..By comparison about 89% of Alberta’s grid is powered by gas. The last coal plant will be retired this year.
