Canada unveils plans to achieve `net zero' emissions by 2050
Bill C-12 formalizes strategy for first time after country consistently misses targets
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has laid out a loose framework to get Canada to “net zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, introducing new climate change obligations to a country that has missed all of its previous environmental commitments.
The Liberal government on Thursday tabled Bill C-12, which for the first time formalizes its plans to eliminate Canada's net carbon output.
The legislation will require the environment minister to set fiveyear targets, beginning in 2030, to curb emissions, and report progress back to Parliament on a regular basis.
It also requires the finance minister to provide annual reports on what she is doing to guard against financial risks posed by climate change.
The new bill comes as governments around the world increasingly commit to reach net zero emissions, often under aspirational terms rather than clear and enforceable targets.
Canada earlier this year separately introduced its Strategic Assessment of Climate Change (SACC), a directive that calls on resource companies to provide “credible” plans to reach net zero emissions as part of their application process to build new projects.
One industry group called the SACC “unworkable” in a letter to Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson.
Opposition members and some environmental groups panned the new legislation, saying it lacked the necessary enforcement mechanisms that would actually ensure emissions are reduced.
Industry groups broadly supported the bill, but said more details on actual emissions reductions are needed.
“The Liberal government's own projections show that they are not even close to meeting their current commitments, yet they are setting new targets that are higher and even farther into the future,” Conservative MP Dan Albas said in a statement.
Canada has missed all of the previous emissions targets it set over the last three decades. It missed its 2012 target under the Kyoto accord by more than 100 million tonnes and at the end of this year will miss its 2020 target by an even wider margin.
Climate experts say Canada is on now on track to miss its 2030 Paris target, first agreed upon by the Harper government, that aims to reduce GHG emissions 30 per cent below 2005 levels.
Environmental groups were divided on the legislation, but were in agreement in their call for an independent oversight committee to ensure that the federal government keeps to its promises.
Dale Marshall of advocacy group Environmental Defence said the legislation lacks “true accountability and transparency,” as it failed to impose immediate consequences on governments who miss the five-year targets.
“The climate accountability legislation introduced today unfortunately has major deficiencies that will, at best, hold future federal governments accountable for Canada's climate commitments,” he said in a written statement.
Marshall criticized the plan for not legislating the “most important” target in 2025, and instead beginning in 2030.
“Given that Canada has missed every climate target in the past 20 years, strong accountability legislation is a necessary tool for breaking this pattern and tackling the climate emergency head-on. However, the proposed legislation currently lacks key elements.”
The David Suzuki Foundation, meanwhile, said Bill C-12 was a major step in meeting international climate targets, and “broadly aligns with the gold-standard U.K. legislation, in place since 2008, which has played a role in the U.K.'s ability to hold leaders accountable, reduce polarization and drive down carbon emissions,” according to a statement.
Environmental groups have been calling for legally-binding emissions targets, warning that higher global temperatures could irreversibly damage the planet.
Industry has broadly accepted environmental policies like carbon taxes, but has meanwhile said that a controlled phase out of natural resources remains entirely unworkable in a world heavily dependent on fossil fuels.
Speaking to reporters, Trudeau acknowledged that the legislation would not in itself force future governments to meet the 2050 target.
He said accountability for meeting those targets would ultimately be carried out by voters, who increasingly support stricter climate change policies.
“It is ultimately up to Canadians to continue to choose governments that are serious about reducing climate change and that will be accountable to Canadians every five years.”
Goldy Hyder, head of the Business Council of Canada, also applauded the new legislation, but also called for a more “coherent, cost-effective plan that clearly sets out the responsibilities of governments, businesses and Canadians in reducing GHG emissions between now and 2050.”
Catherine Abreu, executive director of the Climate Action Network Canada, said she was more hopeful than she had been about the pending legislation, because the title of the bill has the words “transparency and accountability” in it.
She said to live up to its title, the bill will need to set specific carbon budgets for how much Canada can emit each year, decide where those emissions are going to come from, and then show the ways to hit those budgets.
It will also, she said, require an enforcement mechanism that isn't just about targets, but setting out who decides if they have been met and what happens if they are not.
“There is a difference between legislating a target and legislating climate accountability,” said Abreu. “We need to fundamentally fix the way we do climate action in Canada because it is not working.”
It is ultimately up to Canadians to continue to choose governments that are serious about reducing climate change and that will be accountable to Canadians every five years.