Canada continues to add to its ecological debt through unsustainable consumption of its natural resources, says a new report released Tuesday by an international conservation group.
The Living Planet Report, released by WWF International, said the footprint of the average Canadian is 2 1/2 times greater than that of the planet’s average citizen. More than half of that Canadian footprint is coming from the consumption of fossil fuels, such as gasoline and the resulting heat-trapping gases that cause global warming.
The conservation group said that humans would need 3.5 planets to meet their resource demands if all people consumed as much as the average Canadian.
“Clearly, the current system of human development, based on increased consumption and a reliance on fossil fuels, combined with a growing human population and poor overall management and governance of natural resources, is unsustainable,” said the report, now in its ninth edition.
“Many countries and populations already face a number of risks from biodiversity loss, degraded ecosystem services and climate change.”
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The report was released by WWF International, also known as the World Wildlife Fund, in partnership with the Zoological Society of London, the Global Footprint Network and the European Space Agency.
The index is based on consumption of carbon-based fuels, forests, crops, grazing land, fishing grounds as well as land used for human infrastructure or buildings. It warns that some of the potential risks resulting from over consumption could affect supplies of food, water and energy, while increasing vulnerability to natural disasters, health risks and resource-driven conflicts.
“These risks are disproportionately borne by the poorest people, even though they contribute relatively least to humanity’s ecological footprint,” said the report.
The overall footprint for the average Canadian ranks eighth among countries behind Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, the United States, Belgium and Australia.
The report said the average person on Earth would need 1.5 planets to produce the resources he or she is consuming to avoid running out of resources.
In other words, the average person is consuming resources 50 per cent faster than the planet can replenish them.
“Canadians are blessed with vast natural resources, but without better stewardship and reduced demand on our planet, these will be lost for future generations,” said Gerald Butts, president and CEO of WWF-Canada.
“As a resource-rich country with a resource-based economy, Canada has an important opportunity to protect our environmental and economic future by valuing the natural capital that is fundamental to Canada’s economy and identity.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government has recently proposed to speed up approvals of new industrial projects by weakening federal oversight when it comes to reviews and monitoring of potential environmental impacts.
The report suggested that people on the planet could make better choices by preserving and restoring natural capital, producing and using more clean forms of energy, and reducing wasteful consumption.
Read the full report here:
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