Climate change is happening.

With all the debate now raging in Alberta about whether or not to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, it seems, at last, that everyone who matters accepts that human activity is having a negative impact on our climate.

Major oil companies such as Shell and BP, and even the Alberta government, have finally stopped arguing the point made long ago by the world’s leading scientists, and have started discussing what to do about it.

The reality of climate change was brought home to Albertans this summer with the devastating drought that struck our rural communities.

Of course there have been droughts before. Of course the climate has warmed before. But it is clear that human activity is making things much worse.

During the 20th century, the world’s average temperature increased by more than any century in the last 1000 years.

Nine of the ten hottest years in recorded history took place in the 1990s, and 1998 is thought to be the warmest year of the millennium.

The number of weather-related disasters during the 1990s was four times that of the 1950s, and cost 14 times as much in economic losses.

One in five Canadians was directly affected by a weather disaster between 1996 and 2000.

We know climate change is happening. We know that increasing concentrations of greenhouse gas emissions are partly to blame. We know that we must start to reduce our emissions to avoid catastrophic impacts on future generations.

The next step, of course, is to start acting on what we know.

Opponents of the Kyoto Protocol say that we shouldn’t rush into dealing with climate change. They say that the timelines laid out in Kyoto are too short and unrealistic. This position ignores the long history of discussion and inaction on this pressing global problem.

The international community, including Canada, has been talking about doing something about climate change for fourteen years.

Ten years ago, leaders from around the world met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil at the Earth Summit and came up with a plan to reduce emissions through voluntary measures. It failed completely, and emissions continued to rise.

Five years ago, leaders from around the world met in Kyoto, Japan and signed a binding treaty to address climate change. People forget now that Kyoto extended the deadlines agreed to in Rio in 1992 because so few nations had done anything to address the problem.

In Canada, the Federal government has been consulting with provincial, territorial, industry and non-governmental representatives coast to coast on Kyoto sine 1998.

At long last, it is time for Canada, and Alberta, to stop talking and start acting on climate change.

The longer we wait to ratify Kyoto, the more uncertainty there will be for business. The longer we wait to ratify Kyoto, the harder it will be to meet the targets we agreed to five years ago. The longer we wait to ratify Kyoto, the farther Canada will fall behind other nations in creating sustainable domestics industries that will provide jobs into the future.

With few exceptions, the rest of the world has started to act on climate change through Kyoto. Many businesses in Canada have shown the Kyoto targets are achievable, and are ready to start acting. Trade unions have a plan to ensure that workers are not left out in the cold. Canadians overwhelmingly support ratification of Kyoto.

It is time for Canada to take meaningful action on climate change. It is time for Kyoto.