On February 15, with the Conservatives' typical, quiet Friday afternoon, splash-less launch, the 2012 Progress Report to the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy was tabled in the House of Commons. The following week was a break in the Parliamentary schedule, and, so far, the report has been ignored in the national media.

If you have had any exposure to the talking points repeated, ad nauseum, by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Environment Minister Peter Kent, and Michelle Rempel (Kent's Parliamentary secretary) on Canada's actions in reducing Greenhouse gases (GHG), you will have heard that 'Canada is half way to our Copenhagen target.' This is the target adopted by Stephen Harper when he attended the climate talks, COP15, in 2009.

Doha, Qatar — The 18th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is now underway in Doha, Qatar. This year's president is His Excellency Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiya, chair of Qatar's Administrative Control and Transparency Authority.

Al-Attiya said the conference is "a turning point" and participants have "a golden opportunity … over the coming days, and we should not miss it." COP presidents usually utter such statements at the outset of negotiations.