Green party leader Elizabeth May was looking to hug a logger Friday.She said that in the face of climate change, the environmental interests of Green party supporters and those of the forestry industry are more closely aligned than they may have been in the past.
"We want to ensure the forest has as few industrial stresses as possible, because it is going to have so many climate stresses," Ms. May told members of the Forest Products Association of Nova Scotia in Halifax.
Although the environmental spotlight is currently on the need to reduce gas emissions, she said there is also a pressing need for the forestry, agriculture and fishery sectors to adjust to climate change.
"We need to figure how to adapt to levels of climate crisis that are now inevitable," Ms. May said.
Among other things, the former executive director of the Sierra Club of Canada said the forest industry in Nova Scotia can lessen the impact of climate change by eliminating clearcutting and using selective logging.
"In order to avoid dramatic damage from the climate crisis we need to ensure the logging that’s done allows the forest to recover," Ms. May said.
The Green party leader said in an interview that some of the larger forestry companies across Canada are applying to forest stewardship councils for "eco-logging" certification to allow them to charge more to the consumer.
"People want to know the forest products they are using come from a sustainable forest," Ms. May said.
Back in the mid-1970s, the Green party was critical of forestry practices in the province and a staunch opponent of aerial spraying of pesticides, eventually banned by the provincial government.
Ms. May said Ottawa remains sadly out of step with the country’s interest in the environment and climate change.
"We should have started adaptive planning by now . . . to educate those parts of our economy that are very sensitive to climatic conditions," she said.