A.nother P.ropaganda E.xercise C.ompleted

What a farce, dressed up as meaningful. Harper is being credited as the crucial player in getting the APEC leaders to agree to the climate change comminique. Lauded as a "big, big step" by Harper, the actual "agreement", if you can call it that, is nothing more than business as usual:

The agreement, which does not bind countries to meeting firm goals, sketches out a blueprint for improving energy use "to slow, stop and then reverse" climate change...

The agreement announced today calls for a reduction of 25 per cent(intensity) by 2030...

The draft agreement included two goals that Australia wanted APEC to agree on. It called for the reduction of "energy intensity" — the amount of energy needed to produce economic growth — and increasing forest cover in the region by at least 20 million hectares by 2020. Forests help absorb the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

Both goals are nonbinding in keeping with APEC's voluntary, consensus-based approach.

I included the word "intensity" in the above text, because the article fails to mention that crucial distinction. The first word that comes to mind, pathetic, when you do some quick math. A 25% reduction in intensity targets by 2030, translates to just less than a 1% reduction per year. If you look at the intensity trends in Canada, you will find that we have seen a 2-3% reduction per year (under the do nothing Liberals), simply as a function of technology and better practice. In other words, Harper's "big, big step" amounts to nothingness, because the targets can be reached naturally, without any effort. When you consider the fact that intensity targets doesn't translate to actual overall emissions, then the fascade is even more pronounced.

Another irrelevant line, the leaders pledge to "slow, stop and then reverse" the rise in GHG's. Of course no mechanism, no time frame and everything is "voluntary"- how impressive. Harper must have really lit a fire under the APEC leaders with his riveting keynote address on climate change. Cough. Let's keep it real, this is a joke of an agreement, which is basically a sad attempt to save face, look engaged, and give various leaders disingenious rhetoric to sell back home. Nero fiddles while Rome burns.