Vice President Joe Biden believes the world will need the steady-handed leadership only Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could provide to defeat global warming.
Trudeau and German Chancellor Angela Merkel must fill the void left by a departing Obama administration in the fight against climate change, Biden told a group of former prime ministers Thursday.
“The changes that are going to take place are going to be astronomical,” the vice president said, referring to the kind of actions needed to reduce carbon emissions in a world dominated by a Trump administration.
He added: “The progress is going to be made but it’s going to take men like you Mr. Prime Minister, who understand it has to fit within the context of a liberal economic order, a liberal international order, where there’s basic rules of the road.”
Biden heaped praise on Canada, singling out the two countries’ battle against Islamic militants, and combating climate change, calling it “the most consequential issue of our generation.”
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion said the country will push President-elect Donald Trump to join the climate change crusade.
“We were able to agree with a lot of initiatives with the current administration, the Obama one. We will work with the Trump administration,” Dion said in a press conference before Biden’s comments.
The prime minister fashions himself an environmentalist, even though he’s made several overtures over the past years to the fossil fuel industry.
Trudeau’s administration attempted to impose a “climate test” on new pipelines and record any potential increases in CO2 emissions in November, but immediately told companies how to get around it.
He’s also worked covertly to court oil companies on pipeline projects.
Trudeau rejected Enbridge’s attempt to build the Northern Gateway pipeline, for instance, a move which was praised by activists and aboriginal groups concerned about the line’s impact on the environment.
The prime minister then approved Kinder Morgan’s proposed expansion of its Trans Mountain pipeline on the same day. The expanded line would dump 890,000 barrels of crude a day through an already existing pipeline.
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