The Courage to Lead

Sometimes it takes courage to lead the way. The almost predictable response to the calls to reduce carbon emissions and employ alternative energy sources is to say that it will kill the economies of the prosperous nations. Even though President George Bush admitted that the U.S. is "addicted to oil," neither America nor Canada are in any hurry to address that dependence.

Yesterday the European Union announced a major challenge to this "wisdom" about what makes us economically healthy. The EU nations have agreed -- not without some dissent -- to take steps to create a sustainable future economy. They are willing to lead, and ask that other Western nations, including Canada, follow suit as an example to the rest of the world.

Canadian pundits often argue that our contributions to climate change are minimal compared to China, India, the United States. Is that really the point? Leadership is always more than "crunching the numbers."As I read my bible, we are called to make uncomfortable choices at times, in order to be faithful and just people of God.

Take a look at this excerpt from the BBC about the EU announcement:

The 27 EU states will each decide how they contribute to meeting a 20% boost overall in renewable fuel use by 2020. On Thursday, EU leaders agreed to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 20% from 1990 levels by the year 2020. Member states have also agreed to set a 10% minimum target on the use of bio fuels in transport by 2020.

Speaking in Brussels, Prime Minister Tony Blair said: "These are a set of groundbreaking, bold, ambitious targets for the European Union. "It gives Europe a clear leadership position on this crucial issue facing the world."

I hope we will now respond to the challenge.