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Articles by Seth Klein
Some personal news: last week, I resigned from my role at Business in Vancouver. Over the past seven-plus years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with an amazing cast of reporters, editors and… | Stefan Labbé | 26 comments
Some personal news: last week, I resigned from my role at Business in Vancouver. Over the past seven-plus years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with an amazing cast of reporters, editors and photographers across Glacier Media’s many publications. I’m incredibly grateful to everyone who gave me the space and time to report deeply. The latitude I was given—to wade through floodwaters and public documents, or collaborate on months-long cross-border investigations—won’t be forgotten.
We need a wartime mindset to fight the threat of wildfires
‘We need a wartime mindset and political and policy agenda to tackle the climate emergency.’ Photograph: Alexandros Beltes/EPA The images crossing all our screens certainly feel war-like – emergency aircraft and black smoke fill the skies, frantic civilians seeking shelter, historic towns lying in ruins, charred forests and burned-out vehicles, exhausted and sweat-soaked emergency responders. Of course, brutal fires such as these are not restricted to France and Spain.
No new fossil fuel projects on a burning planet
Hello friends, and a warm welcome to new subscribers to this newsletter, Apologies for the missed newsletter last week. I took a few days off to go camping in Tofino with my family. For the third time in my life, I tried unsuccessfully to stand up on a surfboard (my 11-year-old son, on the other hand, managed to get up within minutes, and after two days in Tofino’s frigid waters, I’m told all future holidays must revolve around surfing; we shall see).
How might extreme heat shift the political & policy landscape?
Hello friends (and welcome to new subscribers), I don’t have a new column this week, so instead I’m sharing an assortment of recommended items. This week marks the 5th anniversary of the catastrophic heat dome event that shattered temperature records in my home province of British Columbia, and took the lives of 619 people – mostly seniors who died, alone, in their overheated homes.
The Energy Mix Weekender
The vast majority of us know climate change is an emergency. A great many of us aren’t so sure what to do about it. Seth Klein says it begins with imagining something better. A Message from the Future, the 2019 video produced by The Intercept, sought to expand our imagination, offering a picture of what it might look like when we implement a Green New Deal. Full video here.
Opinion: The silence on climate this election is deafening Original
Advertisement 1 • You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account. Article content In recent elections, all credible political parties have had to present detailed climate platforms. Its absence was seen as a key driver in the Conservatives’ loss in 2019, so much so that Erin O’Toole ensured their 2021 platform had something of substance on climate. Apparently, no more. The absence of strong policy, or even discussion, on climate is deafening.
Earth breaks another record for hottest summer
Summer 2024 sweltered to Earth's hottest on record, making it even more likely that this year will end up as the warmest humanity has measured, European climate service Copernicus reported Friday. And if this sounds familiar, that's because the records the globe shattered were set just last year as human-caused climate change, with a temporary boost from an El Nino, keeps dialing up temperatures and extreme weather, scientists said.
Scientists want to build a ‘doomsday’ vault on the moon
This story was originally published by Grist and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration In the fall of 2016, soaring temperatures caused the permafrost encasing a remote Norwegian mountainside to thaw. An ensuing flood breached the entrance tunnel of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, built into the mountain as a fortress to safeguard the world’s seeds.
What do you do if The Really Big One strikes on your vacation?
This story was originally published by Vox and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration Earlier this year, projections from UN Tourism put international travel on track to recover to pre-pandemic levels — putting a swell of tourism on a collision course with the increasing danger of climate disasters, from wildfires ripping through Greece to megaquake warnings in southern Japan.
Daybreak South with Chris Walker
Daybreak South is CBC Radio One's current affairs morning show covering the Southern Interior of British Columbia, based in Kelowna. We bring listeners the latest news, weather and road information.
Most People in BC Are Ready to Get New Buildings off Gas: Poll
As the province prepares for what most expect will be a very challenging summer of fires and drought, much of the public has come to understand that the climate emergency is upon us. Luckily, the solutions are at hand too. A key piece of climate emergency action is getting fossil gas — more commonly and misleadingly known as “natural” gas — out of buildings. But we need to pick up the pace. And done right, electrifying our homes can also improve affordability.
Opinion: After a disastrous summer, make climate a priority
Last month, the B.C. Climate Emergency Campaign released its second annual Climate Action Progress Report. The key message? B.C. is not on track to meet its climate targets. This is not surprising, given that the province has never met its climate targets.
Opinion: After a disastrous summer, make climate a priority
Last month, the B.C. Climate Emergency Campaign released its second annual Climate Action Progress Report. The key message? B.C. is not on track to meet its climate targets. This is not surprising, given that the province has never met its climate targets.
Poll results show a youth climate corps would be a political winner, and a path to a real mobilization — Climate Emergency Unit
Full poll results are available here and include results broken down by region, age, gender and political voting intention. The online poll surveyed 2,200 adults in Canada between Oct. 27 and Nov. 1. "Support for a Youth Climate Corps crosses demographic, regional and political lines," said David Coletto, CEO of Abacus Data.
Reflections on a burning summer and the precarious terrain between hope and despair
Sometimes, in the eye of a storm, it can be hard to tell when the winds have shifted. Victories often don’t occur in a clear-cut timeline, nor can they always be pinpointed to a specific event. Darkest before the dawn, as they say. When we look back at this time, maybe — just maybe — the spring and summer of 2023 will be remembered as a pivot period. Maybe I’m grasping here as we come to the end of this summer of devastating events.
Crisis, what crisis? We need a climate emergency information agency — Climate Emergency Unit
[The following piece originally appeared in Canada’s National Observer here.] “Addressing climate change means fixing the way we produce energy. But maybe it also means addressing the problems with the way we produce stories.” — writer Rebecca Solnit A question for you, dear reader: When you reflect on the climate communications you hear and see from our federal and provincial governments, does any of it seem like an emergency to you? Nope, me neither. And that’s a problem.
Canada needs a new federal Climate Emergency Just Transition Transfer: Seth Klein’s testimony to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance — Climate Emergency Unit
On Sept 21, I was invited to testify before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance as part of the committee’s deliberations on fiscal federalism. In a rare opportunity, I had a full hour with the committee to share my idea for a new federal transfer and then had a spirited Q&A session with the parliamentarians. Here’s an edited version of what I shared. Thank you, chair. And good afternoon, honourable members. Thank you so much for this invitation.
Reflections on mandates, from COVID to climate — Climate Emergency Unit
[This piece was originally published in Canada’s National Observer here.] Mandates. Hard to think of a more fraught word these days. Last January, COVID vaccine and mask mandates spawned a multi-week occupation of the nation’s capital, or at least, were used by far-right petro-defenders as a pretext for the “freedom” protest that besieged Ottawa.
Murray Dobbin, ‘Giant of the Canadian Left’
Neoliberal myth-buster. Far right exposer. Movement philosopher. Activist mentor. Murray Dobbin was all of these. Announcements, Events & more from Tyee and select partners The Tyee Wins the Bill Good Award for ‘Significant Contribution to Journalism’ Look what readers’ support helped us achieve. Take a bow with us. CONTEST: Win a Digital Pass to the 2021 Vancouver Writers Festival One very lucky Tyee reader will receive full access to the city’s hottest literary event. On Sept.
The case for a Youth Climate Corps in Canada
The climate mobilization in Canada, as I’ve written in previous columns, has yet to feel like a grand societal undertaking. Among the bold initiatives that would send such a signal — a Youth Climate Corps.
An author and a poet offer a practical and a soulful vision for the future
Montreal-based poet Erin Robinsong and Vancouver-based author Seth Klein shared their visions for the collective fight against the climate crisis. Robinsong’s was refracted through her poetry, while Klein’s was through a discussion of his new book A Good War: Mobilizing Canada For The Climate Emergency. “Is the economy as strong as ever? Is policy as unstoppable as fire?
Chevron next on climate activist shareholders' hit list
This story was originally published by The Guardian and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The climate activist shareholder group that has led investor rebellions at Shell and BP will next week target the U.S. oil major Chevron with demands to set carbon emissions reduction targets.
U.S. considering carbon fee on imports from heavy polluters
BERLIN (AP) — U.S. climate envoy John Kerry said Tuesday that Washington is looking into the possibility of introducing a fee on imports from countries that don't tax heavy polluters, but he cautioned that such a move could carry risks “downstream.” Kerry said President Joe Biden had instructed U.S. officials to examine “what are the consequences, how do you do the pricing, what is the impact.” “But he wants to make sure we’ve thoroughly vetted it and thought about it as a matter of policy,...
Canada needs energy advisers to bolster its home retrofit plans
The government is going on a hiring spree to recruit and train up to 2,000 people as energy advisers to support green home renovation programs this summer. On Monday, Natural Resources Minister Seamus O’Regan announced $10 million in funding to pay for the energy adviser program designed to help Canadians cut their home energy use. Energy advisers are trained to conduct audits that tell homeowners how their home currently uses energy and how they can upgrade it to be more energy efficient.
Time to stop playing nice with fossil fuel companies
In the face of the climate emergency, this is the time of our Phoney War. Most of us know the battle for our lives must soon get underway, and most of our leaders — in government and industry — are now talking tough on climate. But in deeds, they aren’t there yet. Among the many barriers we face to a genuine climate emergency plan is a fossil fuel industry that has insidiously used its economic and political power to stall meaningful action.
Climate change forces us to act fast - and play the long game
Seth Klein approaches the challenge of the climate crisis as A Good War, the title of his new book. He refers to C.D. Howe, our Canadian minister of everything during the Second World War who revamped government, harnessed industry and ensured that Canada was well equipped to fight Hitler. Klein argues the Canadian government could similarly fight rising greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are expected to devastate all countries.
Feds need to treat climate crisis like a national emergency
“In wartime the provinces were forced to concede their jurisdiction over provincial resources to the central government.
Feds may change net-zero emissions bill to woo NDP
OTTAWA — Canada's environment minister has proposed changes to the bill that would make the federal government more accountable as it strives to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The proposed legislation was introduced last fall but has been at the second-reading stage in the House of Commons, where the minority Liberal government generally needs the support of at least one major opposition party to get bills passed.
Seth Klein explains how the climate emergency is like a war
What if we treated the climate crisis like a war? How would our response to the threat change? Would we succeed in defeating the opponent? These are the central conceits behind author and policy analyst Seth Klein’s new book, A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency. Klein argues that reckoning with the climate crisis will require a radical social and economic restructuring akin to the Canadian federal response to the Second World War.
Climate action can save lives - it's time to go big
In honour of Earth Day, become one of 250 new subscribers who make more urgent reporting on climate change happen here Special offer through tomorrow only and only a few packages still available at this price Discussions and plans of action around climate change are too rarely informed by the devastating health impacts of a rapidly warming planet.
Biden set to reveal his climate crisis cards at virtual summit
In honour of Earth Day, become one of 250 new subscribers who make more urgent reporting on climate change happen here Special offer through tomorrow only and only a few packages still available at this price This story was originally published by The Guardian and appears here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Budget 2021 targets cleantech, funding for carbon capture
The 2021 federal budget would slash corporate taxes for zero-emission technology manufacturers, offer tax credits for carbon-capture initiatives and spend billions of dollars on projects to cut carbon pollution and boost climate resiliency.
Biden still beating Trudeau on climate leadership
Next week, U.S. President Joe Biden will be hosting a climate summit, to which he has invited 40 world leaders, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. My, how the tables have turned. Seven years ago, Trudeau was the golden new arrival on the global scene, an embodiment of hope at home and abroad, particularly with respect to the defining challenge of our time — the climate emergency. In the Trump era, Trudeau seemed a beacon of climate sanity and action (at least in the North American context).
Are Albertans ready for an honest conversation about the future of oil and gas?
Only 1 day left to save big on a National Observer subscription Get 3 years for only $99! Part 2 of a two-part series. Read Part 1 here. Recent Alberta governments of both the left and the right have promised working families they can bring back “the good times” and restore jobs in the oilpatch, and have falsely told Albertans that new pipelines to tidewater would result in greater wealth and revived investment.
Can the Alberta NDP tell a new climate story?
Only 2 days left to save big on a National Observer subscription Get 3 years for only $99! Part 1 of a two-part series Two years ago, with the right reunited and back in government in Alberta, led by a triumphant Jason Kenney, it seemed hard to imagine the Alberta NDP returning to government any time soon. But in a stunning turnaround, the prospect of Rachel Notley’s NDP being re-elected in 2023 no longer seems at all far-fetched.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti: 1919 - 2021
On Monday, Feb. 22, American poet, publisher and innovative bookseller Lawrence Ferlinghetti died from lung disease at the age of 101. In the summer of 1977, Ferlinghetti joined the crew of the Greenpeace ship during the whale campaign, and he wrote a historic poem in the ship's dreambook.
Parents want Canada’s climate act to count
The climate is changing. As parents, we know the window to ensure our children’s future is one where they can thrive instead of merely survive closes at the end of this decade. The climate policies enacted now will decide the fate of our kids, and the Canadian government is not doing enough to keep them safe. So far, Canada has missed every single target it has ever set to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. We are not on track to meet our Paris Agreement commitment, either.
Independent scrutiny key to best climate answers, U.K. expert says
Having an independent, well-resourced expert body scrutinizing government climate progress helps improve outcomes, says a senior member of the U.K.’s Climate Change Committee. Mike Thompson is chief economist and director of analysis for the 13-year-old public body that advises the U.K. government on climate change. He said Thursday that independence is key to arriving at the best answers.
Whatever the Cost May Be
At this point, one should not have to set the scene for a review of Seth Klein’s A Good War, yet the notion of a “climate emergency” still has an empty rhetorical flavour for far too many. The reality: Massive wildfires in Australia, the Amazon, and North America. Increasingly powerful hurricanes, so numerous that meteorologists run out of names. The rapid melting of Arctic ice. A measurable rise in sea levels. Road-melting summer highs.
Time for zero carbon housing and buildings in BC
Jan 21, 2021 By Seth Klein and Marc Lee BC needs a lot of new affordable housing and any build out should ensure that it meets the highest standards for energy efficiency, including zero-carbon operations. Residential, commercial and institutional buildings produce 11% of BC’s GHG emissions, mainly from burning natural gas for heating and hot water. Updated building codes are needed to make the deployment of these techniques mandatory within the next few years.
We've run out the clock - and Trudeau's climate accountability bill isn't enough
“Winning slowly on climate is just another way of losing.” — Bill McKibben, climate writer and co-founder of 350.org Canadian climate policy is a disheartening trail of unmet targets. Whether committed with sincere intent that was lost in the winds of political change or cynically advanced to give the appearance of action, the results have been the same. Our federal and provincial governments have spent decades making promises to cut greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) with no discernible effect.
Just transition planning for a managed wind-down of fossil fuels in BC
Dec 16, 2020 By Marc Lee and Seth Klein Resource development has long been central to BC’s economy. But commodity prices swing, industries consolidate and patterns of demand change over time. When they do, resource industry workers are often left holding the bag. The price is often much more than just involuntary unemployment for laid-off workers, but also includes mental illness, increases in domestic violence and addiction.
Towards a managed wind-down: the conversation we need to have
Nov 26, 2020 By Marc Lee and Seth Klein An enduring lesson from COVID-19 is that where there’s a will there’s a way. Faced with a pandemic, governments have risen to the challenge and made profound changes that would have seemed impossible mere months before. We now need to shift this out-of-the-box thinking to the existential threat posed by climate change. The need to eliminate fossil fuels for energy as fast as possible must be at the centre of that shift.
What We're Up Against: The New Climate Denialism
Share to raise climate awareness In A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency, author Seth Klein points out—in chapter 2 of his book—that what we’re up against is a new climate denialism in Canada. Excerpts are featured (with permission) in this piece. The Evolution of Climate Denialism The climate movement is evolving and getting more progressive.
Time to mobilize like we mean it
Nov 17, 2020 By Seth Klein Lessons from the Second World War for the climate emergency Even before the arrival of COVID-19, the history of the Second World War was making a remarkable comeback. Our movie theatres (remember those?), Netflix offerings and bookstore shelves were full of modern reboots of our mid-century wartime experience. Then the global pandemic struck, and suddenly, everyone is drawing comparisons to the Second World War.
Wordsfest
Seth Klein: In Conversation with Joshua Schuster November 11, 2020 at 7:00pm The Words Festival is pleased to welcome author and policy analyst Seth Klein, who will be joining us to talk about his new book, A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency. Our host will be Western English Professor Joshua Schuster.
In B.C., climate is the challenge of our time. Our politicians aren’t up to the fight
A version of this piece previously appeared in The Tyee. Seth Klein is an adjunct professor with Simon Fraser University’s Urban Studies program and the former B.C. director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. His book A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency (ECW Press) was published in September.
We Can't Fight Climate Change Without Also Combating Inequality
There is a common argument made against linking the need for climate action with inequality and social justice issues, which goes: “Getting society off fossil fuels is challenging enough. So why make the task even more difficult by requiring our transition plans to rectify the other injustices of the world?” The Green New Deal and other climate justice campaigns frequently encounter this position, often made by climate policy wonks and even some mainstream environmental organizations.
BC Needs a ‘Wartime Approach’ to the Climate Emergency. And Now
All of us who heed the warnings of climate scientists are increasingly alarmed as we stare at the harrowing gap between what the science says is necessary and what our politics seems prepared to entertain. Despite decades of calls to action, our greenhouse gas emissions are not on a path to stave off a horrific future for our children and future generations. Announcements, Events & more from Tyee and select partners The Run Is Back.
We Can’t Let Politicians Blame Us For Their COVID-19 Failures
The pandemic’s second wave is coming to Canada this fall. In fact, with daily COVID-19 cases reaching 478 in Ontario and 489 in Quebec on Tuesday, it’s fair to say it’s already here. If previous pandemics are any indication, this wave will be deadlier than the first one. Already, political leaders and parts of the media are looking for someone to blame. If you were to listen to them, you’d get the idea that a selfish and short-sighted populace is responsible.
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