The Nova Scotia Liberal Party is calling for an emergency debate on climate change at the earliest opportunity this fall session.

“Make no mistake, the climate crisis is one of the most critical and immediate issues facing us today,” says Liberal leader Iain Rankin. “It’s time to sound the alarm.”

Liberal caucus members walked in solidarity today with Nova Scotia’s youth striking for climate change. The significance of the climate crisis has always been a priority for the Liberal Party and was recognized under the Rankin government in the renamed Environment and Climate Change department. And the detrimental effect fossil fuels have on the atmosphere and climate change is no secret.

Nova Scotia is one of only four provinces still heavily relying on coal usage for electricity generation. That’s why the Liberal mandate firmly committed to getting off coal by 2030, 10 years earlier than the original target. It was bold, ambitious – and doable.

It’s now time to build on the legislative targets the Liberal government put in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, becoming net-zero by 2050, with a commitment to 80 per cent renewable energy by 2030. One of the key pieces of achieving this was a tender put out to have 10 per cent of Nova Scotia’s electricity come from wind and solar power. This would have slashed greenhouse gas emissions by more than one million tonnes a year.

The climate crisis is one of the most defining issues of our time and a matter of urgent public interest. It needs to be prioritized on the floor of the legislature.