Thirteen years later, science has largely delivered the evidence. Yet emissions of greenhouse gases have gone up, rather than down. Forget the oft-quoted target of reducing Canada's greenhouse gas emissions by 6 per cent below the 1990 level, or by 20 per cent below the increased levels of today. The best scientific estimate is that the world would have to cut total emissions of greenhouse gases by more than half over the next few decades simply to hold this century's rise in global average temperatures to no more than 3 degrees, which is roughly five times the temperature increase during the last century. The mere whisper of this figure paralyzes most Canadians and their institutions, says Leiss, who is also president of the Royal Society of Canada.
Governments are in complete denial.
They can't deal with this. It's too big, too horrendous,'' he says. For more than a decade, governments have avoided any tough decisions on climate change, saying science had to provide better answers. Scientists rose to the challenge. Working without pay, they provided their latest research and best analytical expertise to governments through the U.N.'s climate change panel.