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Canadian scientist press Harper to take stronger action

"We're seeing no movement on the part of our politicians and yet pretty well all of the science that's come out since about 2007 has indicated that climate change is moving faster than we thought," said David Schindler, a professor of ecology at the University of Alberta.

Ottawa (December 3, 2009) - In advance of UN climate talks next week in Copenhagen, more than 500 of Canada's leading scientists have issued an open letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper warning that global warming is happening much faster than previously estimated and that government needs much more aggressive targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

The letter, which will be released publicly later today above the names of some of Canada's most internationally recognized environmental researchers, says the Conservative government's current policy, which amounts to a cut in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2.7 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, will not be large enough to forestall rapid climate change.

It says far larger reductions - in the range of 25 to 40 per cent - will be required to keep global warming to less than 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Scientists believe any greater increase will lead to catastrophic climate change.

"Each year that we delay taking sufficient action on climate change costs us and future generations more and increases the difficulty in succeeding," the letter says.

Dr. Schindler says that in the scientific community there is dismay over what is perceived as a lack of reaction by Ottawa to research showing the country is at risk of great damage. These projected effects include a greater frequency of droughts on the Prairies, forest destruction through the spread of pests such as the pine beetle, and infrastructure damage from melting permafrost.

"I really think the key people in our government don't believe in science at all," Dr. Schindler said.

"I don't know what we have to do to get this government's attention."

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