The Pembina Institute's "Facing the Climate Challenge" campaign aims to equip policy makers and the public with the tools and knowledge they need to understand the complex issues around climate change, and to support progressive policies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution.

The five fact sheets featured here provide an overview of climate science, economics, international negotiations, technology and policy options, and effective communication.

Fact Sheet: Transforming Canada's Energy Economy

Canada needs a massive investment in clean energy technology to cut our GHG pollution. The solutions are at hand: more efficient vehicles and buildings, wind and solar power, and even carbon capture and storage have already been demonstrated on an industrial scale.

But Canada has not yet succeeded in dramatically accelerating investment in such technologies. Download our "Transforming Canada's Energy Economy" fact sheet to find out more about the policies it would take to move technologies like these out of the fringes and into the mainstream.

Download: English Fact Sheet | Version française

Fact Sheet: Communicating Climate Change

The need has never been more urgent for individuals and governments to take strong action to reduce GHG pollution and to seize the opportunities created by that action.

But is that message getting through? Research shows that most Canadians don’t understand the science of global warming, or how it could affect their health, communities and livelihoods.

Communicating effectively about climate change is a challenge. This fact sheet offers insight into Canadians' environmental prirorities and values, and highlights the climate messages that resonate and motivate.

Download: English Fact Sheet | Version française

Fact Sheet: A Closer Look at Costs

In Canada, the debate about how to cut GHG pollution often invokes questions of costs. Communities worry about what will happen to their industries or their jobs if the government takes tough action on global warming.

Tackling climate change means changing the way we produce and consume energy, and any change of that magnitude carries some cost. But it also creates new opportunities. And there’s a clear message from economists studying climate change: action is cheaper than the alternative.

Download our "A Closer Look at Costs" fact sheet to learn about the latest research on the economic impacts and opportunities of reducing GHG emissions and adapting to climate change.

Download: English Fact Sheet | Version française

Fact Sheet: Climate Science and Impacts

Scientsts now describe the warming of the climate system as “unequivocal” and evident in rises in air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising sea levels. Already, average global surface temperature has risen more than 0.7˚C above pre-industrial levels, and this has been shown to be due mainly to the buildup in the atmosphere of GHG emissions from human activities.

Even if all emissions ceased today, this amount of warming would roughly double as a result of the delayed effect of emissions already in the atmosphere. Download our "Climate Change Science and Impacts" fact sheet for an overview of the latest research on how climate change is affecting our world, and how an average increase of 2˚C would affect Canada.

Download: English Fact Sheet | Version française

Fact Sheet: Climate at a Crossroads

It’s a make or break moment for the world’s climate.

The agreement that countries aim to reach at the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen will set the rules for international action on climate change when the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012.

Download our "Climate at a Crossroads" fact sheet to learn more about the international climate negotiations process, including where Canada stands on the world stage, and the key elements of a global climate agreement.

Download: English Fact Sheet | Version française