“Canada has never achieved any of its climate goals,” said Caroline Brouillette, National Policy Officer at the Climate Action Network Canada, a coalition of more than 130 groups. “This plan is an opportunity to fix it.” In June 2021, the Liberals passed Canada Zero Emission Accountability Act (CNZEAA). He says, among other things, that the Canadian government must set regular growth targets on the road to zero by 2050. The government has already agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 to 45 percent by 2030. It has pledged to set further growth targets in 2035, 2040 and 2045. The new act has was built on a framework of checkpoints and assessments which include independent supervision. However, key government reporting measures include emission reduction plans and regular progress reports. Canada has nine climate plans since 1990 and has not achieved any of those goals. Federal Commissioner for the Environment and Sustainable Development Jerry V. DeMarco said Canada has the worst performance among the G7 countries in terms of climate targets since the landmark Paris Agreement was approved in 2015. “We can not continue to go from failure to failure. We need action and results, not just more goals and plans,” DeMarco said. The government hopes this week’s plan is changing this trajectory of failure. A climate plan is a lot like a home budget, said lawyer Julia Croome of Ecojustice, an environmental law charity – if you do not pay attention to detail, you will not achieve your goals. “You need a plan. You need to figure it all out – what my expenses are, what I need to achieve. And without that, you obviously are not going to stay within your budget,” Croome said. The Climate Action Network Canada said this week’s broadcast plan should set deadlines and show how much Canada’s climate commitments will cost, how progress will be measured, how data gaps will be filled, and which ministers are responsible.

What do the opposition parties want?

Conservatives say they are worried the plan could hurt the Canadian economy. “We have really difficult issues with inflation, gas prices, other things. The last thing we need is a clean zero plan to come up with a zero employment plan,” said Conservative MP and Climate Change MP Kyle Seeback. . critic. Seeback says Conservatives fear government will exclude nuclear power and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada’s low-emission plan, citing Liberals’ decision to keep nuclear and LNG out Green bond purchasing program. He said the party also did not want to see the price of coal rise to the equivalent of 11 cents per liter of unleaded petrol. The Green Party of Canada said consultations on the plan, which began in December and ended in January, were rushed. “It’s always absurd for the government to propose any consultation and to act like Hanukkah, Christmas and New Year should not be a factor that makes it difficult for citizens to respond,” said MP Elizabeth May, the Greens’ parliamentary leader. Environment Minister Steven Gilbo said he was “surprised, if not shocked” to hear that the Greens wanted more consultation. “I would think that of all the organizations out there, the Green Party would be one of the first to say, ‘Let’s continue with the implementation,’” he said. Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault speaks to the media at COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, on Monday, November 1, 2021. (THE CANADIAN PRESS / Sean Kilpatrick)
The NDP, meanwhile, says it wants a transitional plan to help Canada’s energy workers prepare for a less fossil fuel economy. “[We need to] “Consider how we protect workers and ensure we support the most affected communities and involve indigenous peoples in project design and implementation,” said Laurel Collins, an NDP environmental and climate change critic. MP Charlie Angus, the NDP critic of natural resources, called for an immediate ceiling on oil and gas emissions at 2019 levels. “We have to tell the world that we are serious,” he said. Natural Resources Secretary Jonathan Wilkinson said the government’s oil and gas emissions ceiling will not be announced until after the Ottawa consultations. He said this week’s emissions plan will continue to address the sector responsible for most of Canada’s emissions. “Minister Guilbeault’s plan to reduce emissions, and he and I are certainly working hard and working together on it, will have forecasts for every sector, including the oil and gas sector,” Wilkinson said.