Government seeks better emissions data from provinces

Having missed a March 31 deadline to submit greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets to the United Nations, the federal government is prodding the provinces to come up with better numbers.

In letters sent to her provincial and territorial counterparts on Friday, and released publicly on Sunday, Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq urged the provinces to send more information to bolster reduction targets that the federal government has so far only estimated based on 2014 information.

Aglukkaq said the government wants to announce targets soon so it can present Canada’s contribution to the UN climate conference in December.

At UN climate talks in Lima in December, it was agreed that countries “ready to do so” would formally file pledges on cutting greenhouse gas emissions with the UN by the end of March. Canada, along with Japan, Australia and China all failed to meet the deadline, although a spokesman for Aglukkaq said it was never a firm date.

In Panama City on the weekend, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Canada will unveil its targets for greenhouse gas emissions before the G7 meetings in June. But he said his government wanted to see the outcome of provincial talks on emissions first before unveiling national targets. The provinces are to meet in Quebec City on Tuesday.

Critics have complained that Canada is lagging other nations in defining targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2020.

But the provinces are already in motion, with Premier Kathleen Wynne set to announce Monday that Ontario will join forces with Quebec in adopting a “cap and trade” carbon pricing system to set emissions limits on polluters.