Most Canadians wish to see the summit resulting in a legally-binding agreement to reduce greenhouse gases, but few expect this to happen.
Despite low expectations, the vast majority of Canadians think it is important that Prime Minister Stephen Harper attend an upcoming climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,010 Canadian adults, 76 per cent of respondents say Harper should go to the summit, which is set to begin on Dec. 6.
Low Expectations
Countries attending the Copenhagen summit are supposed to draft a new agreement to replace the 1998 Kyoto Protocol for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, which is due to expire in 2012. Expectations on what will result from the summit are extremely low across Canada.
Most Canadians (58%) want participant countries to come up with a legally binding agreement setting specific targets to reduce greenhouse gases for all signatories. In reality, however, only five per cent of Canadians expect this to actually happen.
A fifth of Canadians (20%) wish to see a political compromise to meet certain milestones on a voluntary basis, and only 12 per cent would be happy to see that there is no agreement at all. The latter is what Canadians really expect—43 per cent say no agreement will be reached amongst the 170 countries meeting at Copenhagen, and 38 per cent say there will only be a non-binding pact.
Commitments
One of the main issues that delegates at Copenhagen will address is whether industrialized nations—including Canada—should offer financial assistance to developing countries in order to help them combat climate change. About four-in-ten Canadians (39%) agree with this rationale, while almost half (49%) disagree with it.
If an agreement does emerge from the Copenhagen Climate Summit, most Canadians (58%) want the federal government to ratify it.
Cap-and-Trade vs. Carbon Tax
If Canadians had to choose between implementing a cap-and-trade system and implementing a carbon tax in this country, the former would be more popular. Two-thirds of respondents (66%) support the trading of carbon permits, while roughly half of respondents (48%) would embrace a carbon tax.
Importance of Climate Change
Most Canadians (63%) believe that climate change is a real problem, caused by polluting emissions from vehicles and industrial facilities.
At least 18 per cent of respondents think combating climate change is more urgent than fighting terrorism (27%), the global financial crisis (25%), HIV/AIDS (23%), world hunger (17%), and global poverty (18%). A greater proportion of respondents say that confronting global warming is just as urgent as confronting world hunger (50%), global poverty (50%), HIV/AIDS (42%), the global financial crisis (41%), and terrorism (38%).
Analysis
Canadians approach the Climate Summit in Copenhagen with both hope and caution. While almost three-in-five respondents would like to see a legally binding agreement that sets specific targets for all signatories, only one-in-twenty think this will actually happen. Still, an overwhelming proportion of respondents—even in the Tory stronghold of Alberta—want the Prime Minister to represent Canada at the international conference.
Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
CONTACT:
Jodi Shanoff, Vice President, Public Affairs
+416 712 5498
jodi.shanoff@angus-reid.com
I think it’s outrageous that Canadians feel unwilling to pay to help poorer countries lower their emissions considering the fact that we have produced most of them and have hogged world resources for so many decades. It’s also outrageous that our Prime Minister is unwilling to curb expansion of the tar sands which produce the “dirtiest” oil on the planet and a huge proportion of Canada’s greenhouse gasses. Canada has become an environmental pariah on the world stage and we Canadians should feel ashamed of our government’s inaction. We are facing an environmental catastrophe and should be acting with urgency.
I THINK ITS AN ABLOLUTE DISGRACE THAT MR HARPER ABANDONED THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF OUR COUNTRY IN SUCH A HEARTLESS AND CAVALIER MANNER, LEAVING HIS MINISTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE SHOOTING LINE TO MERELY ECHO HIS INANE POSITION— TO DINE WITH WITH ROYALTY. HE SHOULD HAVE STAYED HOME AND SAVED US THE EXPENSE. BUT THEN AGAIN, WHAT CAN ONE EXPECT OF SUCH AN OAF?
I DONT THINK THERES EVER BEEN A LESSER REGARD FOR THE ONCE- PROUD CANADA AT THE ‘INTERNATIONAL TABLE; HIS BEHAVIOUR IS DETESTABLE AND SEVERELY TRIES ONES INHERENT PRIDE OF CALLING HIMSELF A CANADIAN.
I think PM Harper should not sign anything to give to the international consortium of pirates and climate terrorists. He should remember that our country does not pay ransome,especially “guilt trip” ransome. I don’t feel we owe anything to people who don’t have the ambition to do anything with their own resources, but are all for us to do without to support them. Global warming/climate change is a money grab by a few to get even richer. David Suzuki is a naturalist, not a climatologist, and Al Gore does not seem to know anything except how he can make money by fear mongering. Both should be charged with fraud and treason.
Good for Harper!!!
Please dont fall for the biggest scam ever!!!
We are Not the biggest polluters! We only contribute 2 percent of the greenhouse gases! And the oil sands only contribute 5 percent of that!
STAND YOUR GROUND MR. HARPER!!!!
It is neither mandatory or ordered to support countless other countries in their ongoing battle for financially equality with other countries. Most of the civilized world has been assisting said countries for the last hundred years; India for instance still has femaile-child mutilation that has not slowed down. China, even in these ‘enlightened’ ages refuse to divulge their pollution level.
To be giving trillions of dollars to VERY dubious governments is simply stupid; you know NOT where those dollare will end up at.
Mr. Prime Minister, stick with what we are doing now; clean up our act asap, PREFERRABLY in ten years!
He has every right to step asside for our Environment Minister to speak; after all he is the supposed expert in our environmental conundrum.
And if Hilary Clinton wants to give one trillion American tax dollars to said countries…let her.
I try to understand the position of those bleeding hearts that Canada is responsible for Global warming when our contribution is calculated to be 2-3 percent!
The responses you have received are based upon the theory that climate change (formerly known as global warming) is caused by increasing CO2 in the atmosphere. I stressed the word theory because there is NO hard scientific numbers to support CO2 caused climate change. The past decade has seen decreasing temperatures despite the fact of rising CO2 levels. This is the basis on which the terminology has been changed from global warming to climate change. There has always been climate change, it is a constant, but to say it is caused by humankind, is to say the least, a leap of madness.
I believe that opinion polls should start off with if you agree or disagree with the basic question being asked and from there break into 2 separate streams of questions.
man made global warming is a lie always has been a lie and always will be a lie, When tyrants like David Suzuki and UN agree on something it is a sure sign of another false hood, communism/marxism pure and simple! these folks and any folks pushing this agenda should be brought up on treason to humanity charges. Our schools, politicians, universities, town councils are all complicit in this scam, the time is now to find out now who in our communities/town offices are pushing these lies and vote them out!
Canada should be compensated for world-wide CO2 emissions instead of vilified. We have a relatively small population and the second largest land mass which is a vast carbon sink. When you balance the CO2 emissions we produce vs the large amount of CO2 the world produces and that we absorb we should receive significant compensation from the rest of the world. Sending money to India or China will accomplish no reduction in world CO2 emissions (they already have huge foreign reserves). Sending money to poorer third world countries will not result in any positive developments as any person who has done business in these countries knows; the money only flows to the rich crooked dictators or politicians who look upon the developed countries as a Cash Cow.
I am not sure about the global warming theory. We have always had climate swings.
When I was a kid we used to have lots of snow every winter.
In the last few years we have been flooded twice in our home.
It seems like about every three years we have severe changes in the weather. This has been a bad winter and I am extremely concerned about flooding again.
why do you not ask for e-mail address. It reads Mail?
One can not discuss with Gore or Suzuki or other climatologists; for this group it is a done deal and the world has agreed upon. Nonsense