(Ottawa) Canada has never reached its greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target and the latest plan put in place by the Trudeau government is insufficient to achieve it, notes the Commissioner of Environment and Development sustainable. Despite this conclusion, the Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, maintains that Canada will succeed this time.
“Absolutely, our plan shows that we are making progress and our annual GHG inventories show that emissions continue to decrease while economic growth increases,” he reacted.
This reaction contrasts with the conclusions of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Jerry DeMarco. He notes that not only is the government’s plan insufficient, but measures for the oil and gas industry have been delayed.
His report tabled in the House of Commons on Tuesday does not take into account the suspension of the carbon tax on fuel oil deliveries announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau almost two weeks ago.
” We do not know [quels seront] the effects of the exemption,” acknowledged the commissioner at a press conference on Tuesday. He wants to know if the government has analyzed the impact it would have on reducing GHGs and if this about-face has damaged the private sector’s confidence in carbon pricing. He intends to make it the subject of his next report. The one he unveiled on Tuesday paints a discouraging picture of Canada’s efforts in this area.
“It will soon be too late to avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change,” he said. Intense wildfires, smoke in the sky, heat waves, severe thunderstorms and flooding are becoming more severe and frequent. »
PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Jerry DeMarco
Canada has seven years to meet its GHG reduction target under the Paris Climate Agreement. It had been set at 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. The objective is to limit the increase in average temperature on a global scale to below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels.
However, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change’s Emissions Reduction Plan for 2030 is insufficient to achieve this target, concludes the commissioner. The measures put forward would instead make it possible to reduce emissions by 34% compared to 2005, according to the government’s own admission.
Time is running out, but it is not yet too late to correct the situation. This is also the reason why the commissioner brought forward his analysis by a year. “Yes, it’s still possible to reach the 2030 target, but they need to do much better than they have done in the last 30 years and they need more measures,” DeMarco said.
He notes that Canada is the only G7 country that has not reduced its GHG emissions since the first efforts to try to avert the climate crisis in 1990. They have instead increased, largely because of the oil industry and gas.
The commissioner identifies several factors that hinder the achievement of the Canadian target: the plan to achieve it lacks rigor, important measures are delayed, projections are unreliable and efforts are fragmented between several departments.
For example, the cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector, as well as the new methane regulations for this industry, are late without knowing when they will be revealed. These are two of five policies that should have come into force in 2022 or 2023.
“It’s really a question of willingness to prioritize,” he argued.
Mr. Guilbeault promises them over the coming weeks. “Honestly, I don’t know of any other country where so much has been done in recent years and that’s normal, we’re in catch-up mode in Canada because for 10 years under Stephen Harper while Pierre Poilievre was a minister in that cabinet, we did nothing in the fight against climate change,” he defended.
The commissioner notes in his report that regulatory measures and carbon pricing, which the Conservatives oppose, constitute “potentially rigorous measures” to reduce GHG emissions.
Among other shortcomings, the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan does not specify any reduction targets for 76 of its 80 measures. Additionally, less than half of them have an implementation date. In fact, the government expects “only 34 of 80 measures (43%) to have a direct impact on emissions.” He also emphasizes that the GHG reductions estimated by the government are based on “overly optimistic assumptions”.
Mr. DeMarco makes nine recommendations to correct these deficiencies, all of which were accepted by the government.
What they said
I note that we gain nothing from this Prime Minister with this carbon tax.
Pierre Poilievre, leader of the Conservative Party of Canada
Under the Liberals, more public money is given to fossil fuels than in any other G20 country. It has to be done.
Alexandre Boulerice, deputy leader of the New Democratic Party
Taking on the oil companies seems to be difficult for the Liberal government, but it is the environmental thing to do.
Kristina Michaud, Bloc Québécois MP
It gets repetitive. Governments from different political families set goals and fail them every time.
Mike Morrice, MP, Green Party of Canada
The serious shortcomings of the government’s climate plan are more than worrying and demonstrate that this government is not yet taking the climate crisis seriously, despite the fact that the country has just suffered a record year for forest fires which are added to other climatic events. extremes.
Patrick Bonnin, spokesperson for Greenpeace Canada
The story so far
December 12, 2015
Canada and 194 other countries adopt the Paris Climate Agreement to combat global warming. The objective is to limit the increase in global average temperature to below 2°C.
June 29, 2021
The government adopts the Canadian Carbon Neutral Accountability Act which details the steps to follow to achieve this international commitment by 2050, but contains no sanctions if the government fails to achieve this.
March 25, 2022
The Department of Environment and Climate Change releases its Emissions Reduction Plan for 2030. The 279-page document details steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 2005 levels. here 2030.