Face-off over climate change comes to Queen’s

Photo by Megan Hamilton

Professor Bruce Pardy (fifth from left) and members of the Queen's Environmental Law Association: Patrick Stratton, MA(Econ)'08/Law '11; and Justin Morrison, George Evans, Nick Esterbauer, Larry Wu, Mally McGregor, Robert Woon, Louise MacDonald, and Matt Doak of Law '13. Missing: Stephanie Brown, Steve Ronan, Matthew Gibson, Benjamin Grant and Martha Monterossa of Law '12.

Queen’s is about to host an expert-driven debate on the prescient issue of climate change. Presented by the Queen’s Environmental Law Association (QELA), “The Great Climate Debate” will bring together spokesmen from legal, scientific, media and policy fields to discuss the validity of global warming science and Canada’s international obligations to reduce emissions.

According to the QELA executive, the debate has been planned in a way that should raise informative clashes of opinion on whether there is scientifically verifiable evidence of climate change and whether the Harper government should, in fact, be praised for an informed global stance on emission reduction. The debate will take place on Monday, November 8, at 7 p.m. in Convocation Hall, located in Theological Hall, and will be moderated by Law Dean Bill Flanagan.

The debating panel consists of four notable experts in the fields of climate investigation and environmental law. Larry Solomon, a writer with the National Post and Executive Director of the Canadian environmental agency Energy Probe, is one of Canada’s highest-profile climate change sceptics. He is also the author of The Deniers, a national best-selling book about the work of scientists who challenge the mainstream opinion on global warming. Queen’s Biology Professor John Smol, a leading researcher into arctic climate change, holds the Canada Research Chair in Environmental Change. Matthew Bramley, Director of the Pembina Institute’s climate change program, is one of Canada’s most outspoken advocates for effective government policies to address climate change. Queen’s Law Professor Bruce Pardy, an expert in environmental law and policy, is a member of the Ontario Environmental Review Tribunal.

Pardy says he expects there will be “stark divergence between the opinions of Smol and Solomon regarding the science of climate change,” as well as “controversial political implications” in the debate between Bramley and himself. While Bramley’s view is that Canada has done an abysmal job on climate change, Pardy argues that “our current government turns out to be wise, prudent, and a world leader.”

The debate will be divided into two parts, with Smol and Solomon arguing the claim that “without deep reductions, humanity’s emissions of greenhouse gases will very likely cause climate change with severe, worldwide impacts in this century.” Pardy and Bramley will debate whether “Canada should embark immediately on a program of deep reductions in its own emissions.”

Of the need for such a debate, QELA’s Steve Ronan, Law ’12, says, “It is important that individuals have the opportunity to learn from perspectives on both sides of these issues, and to develop more informed positions. This is crucial as Canada faces decisions about what are the proper solutions to such problems.”

Solomon adds, “To my knowledge, the Queen's debate on the science of global warming is the first of its kind to be held in Canada, let alone the first to be held in academia. I commend Queen's, and hope that other Canadian universities will follow its lead and trust their students with dissenting information on climate change.”

Admission to the event is free. A reception at the Grad Club will follow. Students and members of the Queen’s and Kingston communities are invited to attend both events. The debate is sponsored by Queen’s Law’s Visitors Committee, the Law Students' Society, and Queen's Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy.