A series of anti-environment decisions by the Trudeau government have left many Canadians wondering who鈥檚 on the side of future generations. In Canada, the short answer is: communities, localities, regions, towns and cities.

The feds and most provinces, simply don鈥檛 have the political will to do the right thing. That鈥檚 why they keep failing. They fail to enforce. They fail to achieve promised results. They buy pipelines and approve massive new fossil fuel projects.

If we go back just over fifty years to the first Earth Day, it鈥檚 easy to realize that we鈥檝e come a long way in terms of our collective understanding of complex environmental issues and how to address them.

In the early seventies, on the heels of groundbreaking works like Rachel Carson鈥檚 鈥淪ilent Spring,鈥� major movements began to understand and address environmental issues as a collective responsibility.

In the late 鈥�60s, the 鈥淐lub of Rome鈥� brought together some of the top minds of its generation to study what would happen to the world if we continue to consume and pollute the way we鈥檇 been doing.

They commissioned a major analysis that was published in March, 1972. Entitled 鈥淭he Limits to Growth鈥�, it was a wake-up call that explained that the planet was doomed if we didn鈥檛 change our approach to development and population growth. That was, of course, before we learned about global warming.

A few months after the publication of 鈥淭he Limits to Growth鈥�, in June of 1972, the United Nations held its most important environmental meeting ever in Stockholm, Sweden. That Stockholm Conference brought environmental issues to the forefront of international concerns. It was the beginning of a methodical, objective approach that was supposed to help nation states make the right decisions.

In 1992, at the Rio Conference, the world began to take a wider view. Understanding that environmental issues have to be looked at in lockstep with economic and social questions. The term sustainable development began to be used to describe the obligation placed on governments to take the effect on future generations into account, whenever they implement a new policy.

In the early seventies, Canada got its first environment ministry. Big central government agencies, such as the EPA in the United States, were then the norm. Today, that tendency of creating an omniscient top-down bureaucracy is starting to reverse itself. The grassroots, local communities, NGOs and ordinary folks concerned about the planet have started to play a major role. They don鈥檛 have the self-congratulatory megaphone of the negligent federal government, but they鈥檙e the ones actually getting the work done.

It comes at an important time as more and more Canadians say that they suffer from environmental anxiety. We receive constant information from credible sources like the United Nations IPCC. The best scientific minds in the world concur: if we don鈥檛 reduce greenhouse gases we won鈥檛 be able to avoid catastrophic global warming. People want action and they鈥檙e able to feel part of the solution by getting involved at the local level.

'HE KNOWS THE SECRET HANDSHAKE'

We have a prime minister who, now in his seventh year in office, has been a total failure when it comes to meeting our international obligations to fight climate change. He knows the secret handshake, attends international conferences, says all the right things, then approves mammoth new petroleum projects like the Bay du Nord offshore oil scheme.

Trudeau鈥檚 minister, Stephen Guilbeault, now gets an earful when he tries to attend events with erstwhile colleagues in the environmental movement. They still can鈥檛 believe that someone who lectured everyone else on climate for decades, could so easily change his tune.

A few months ago, Canada鈥檚 highly respected (and independent) Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Jerry V. DeMarco, tabled a report in the House of Commons that lifted the veil on Canada鈥檚 pathetic performance. Thirty years of broken promises to reduce greenhouse gases actually saw an increase of more than 20% in emissions since 1990.

As the Commissioner noted: 鈥淐anada was once a leader in the fight against climate change. However, after a series of missed opportunities, it has become the worst performer of all G7 nations since the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015 (the year Trudeau assumed office)鈥�.

Trudeau鈥檚 hopeless performance is not unique. Joe Biden took office with the most complete climate plan ever drafted. In Biden鈥檚 first year as president, the United States burned 25% more coal than during Donald Trump鈥檚 final year and Biden has just released large quantities of America鈥檚 strategic petroleum reserve. Nothing has happened with his plan.

Against that backdrop, cities and towns across Canada have been getting more and more actively involved in projects that will lead to major GHG reductions. They are also playing a crucial role helping people and institutions adapt to climate change.

Where the federal and provincial governments have been climate laggards, local governments -- those closest to citizens -- have heard the message and are starting to become climate leaders.

People like Trudeau talk a good game on the environment because they know that it helps them get elected. Provinces push for more oil and gas extraction then rail against any effort to internalize the environmental costs. The public is tired of getting conned because every time they place their trust in someone to finally act, they get another mammoth oil project as a reward.

This year, on Earth Day, let鈥檚 take some time to get involved, to play an active role.

This is my fifth year as Chairman of the board of Earth Day Canada/Jour de la Terre. I listen to my own grandchildren and know that they and their friends are sincerely concerned about the environment. We鈥檝e got better kids for the planet. Let鈥檚 work to have a better planet for our kids.

Tom Mulcair was the leader of the federal New Democratic Party of Canada between 2012 and 2017.