In response to the COP 24 meeting of global governments to improve the Paris Climate Accord, Hamilton residents will rally on Friday afternoon outside the offices of MP Filomena Tassi, federal Minister of Seniors.

The Hamilton 350 Committee is calling on the Trudeau government to increase its greenhouse gas reduction commitments to at least align with the recommendations of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released this fall. The IPCC says global emissions must fall by at least 45 percent over the next twelve years to avoid catastrophic climatic impacts. A recent study ranked Canada with China, Russia and other oil states as the worst climate offenders whose policies put the planet on track for a civilization-ending 5 Celsius warming.

The group is demanding the government meet its promise to end federal subsidies of fossil fuels including the recent $4.5 billion purchase of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain oil pipeline.

In addition to the COP 24 conference, the December 7 rally coincides with a federal-provincial First Ministers meeting in Montreal that includes indigenous representatives, as well as a meeting of MP Tassi with her local climate advisory committee. Members of the committee will be among those who address the rally starting at 2:30 pm.

“We are confronted with a climate crisis that demands emergency action by all levels of government,” says 350 spokesperson Don McLean. “Wildfires, floods, heat waves and droughts across the planet this year show that unacceptable climate change is already here and will only get worse if we fail to act as quickly as possible.”