A new obstacle has appeared in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s desperate attempt to get Canada a seat at the UN Security Council – Greta Thunberg.
The teenage climate alarmist banded together with several UN ambassadors of small island states to draft a letter chastising Canada for failing to meet its climate commitments, according to The Canadian Press.
“For the young generation who will inherit the consequences of these decisions, it is critical that those who claim to be leading on climate action are held to account for decisions they are making back at home,” claims the letter.
Since last year, Trudeau has directed his ministers and diplomats to campaign for the coveted seat. Canada is currently competing against Norway and Ireland for two revolving positions on the council.
As part of Trudeau’s strategy, he has been courting African, Caribbean and Asian states to garner support in the upcoming vote.
The letter slams Trudeau for failing to meet the Paris climate agreement targets and for its continued investment in fossil fuels.
It also says that if Trudeau hopes to reach the Paris targets, he would cancel the Trans Mountain and Keystone XL pipelines and terminate subsidies to Canada’s oil and gas sector.
Among the signatories of the document are international ambassadors, fellow climate activists and climate scientists.
In a last bid to secure himself a seat on the council, Trudeau recently sent Canada’s ambassador to the UN to New York to plead for support in the upcoming vote.
Trudeau has also taken the matter into his own hands. While the coronavirus pandemic raged on, the prime minister took the time to personally call on 28 different world leaders.
“We absolutely want a seat on the UN security council. It is also important that we spend time on the rebuild and the world that we want post-COVID. We need to keep an eye on the future that we want and how we want to shape it,” said Foreign Affairs Minister François-Philippe Champagne.
“The UN security council is the big table. This is where the most consequential decisions are taken with respect to peace and security around the world. It is the first time in generations the world has been on pause, and I think, before we push play, Canadians want us to play a role on the international scene.”
