QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
Canada's Emissions Targets
November 22, 2023
Welcome, Minister Guilbeault.
The United Nations Environment Programme has just published its latest report on the gap between emission reduction needs and outlooks. The report measures and compares how countries are performing when it comes to meeting their climate targets. For China, the gap is 2%; the G20 average is 4%; for Europe, the gap is 9%; for the United States, the second-worst country, the gap is 19%.
In Canada, the gap is 27%. We have the biggest gap in the world between our actions and our targets, between what we say we are going to do and what our policies actually say we are going to do. I know you’re concerned about these issues. What does your government plan to do to reverse the trend and prevent Canada from staying in last place globally when it comes to gaps between its climate commitments and actions?
That is an excellent question. You know, when we came to power in 2015, the projections indicated that Canada would exceed its 2005 targets for 2030 by at least 12%. The latest figures show that we are 7% below 2005 levels. We not only reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the past eight years by 7% below 2005 levels, we also eliminated this surplus we were heading toward in addition to cutting emissions by 7%.
In the past year, as the Minister of Environment, I announced a clean fuel standard, or draft regulations on the zero-emissions legislation. We are the first country in the G20 to have eliminated fossil fuel subsidies two years ahead of the 2025 schedule. We presented new regulations for a carbon-neutral electricity grid by 2035. New regulations on methane emissions for the oil and gas sectors will be announced by the end of the year as well as a cap on greenhouse gas emissions in the oil and gas industry.
I’m the first to agree that Canada is playing catch-up, because the Conservatives did nothing to fight climate change in Canada for 10 years while they were in power. Had we maintained the status quo in the fight against climate change, then we likely would have made some progress, but instead we have been moving backwards. So it’s true that we are still playing catch-up. The plan that I submitted last year shows that we are three‑quarters of the way toward meeting our 2030 targets. There is still work to do, and we need to speed up that work.
There is a discrepancy. According to the Commissioner of the Environment’s report, “the measures most critical for reducing [greenhouse gas] emissions had not been identified or prioritized,” while other stricter measures for the oil industry have been delayed. What’s more, the Government of Canada continues to fund oil and gas projects like Bay du Nord.
Why is the government turning a blind eye to the oil industry and why is it not being proactive on this? Such measures would be a first step toward meeting our short- and medium-term targets since the oil industry is a major polluter.
I don’t share your point of view, senator, particularly the suggestion that measures concerning the oil and gas sector have been slow in coming, because carbon pricing applies in this sector. The elimination of fossil fuel subsidies specifically affects the oil and gas sector.
We have already brought in regulations to reduce methane, a very potent greenhouse gas, particularly in the oil and gas sector, which must reduce its emissions by at least 40% by 2025. The Prime Minister has announced that we will be raising this target to at least a 75% reduction by 2030, making it one of the most ambitious targets in the world.
We are the fourth-largest oil and gas producer on the planet. The only specific element of the oil and gas sector that hasn’t been put forward — I’ve only been Minister of the Environment for two years — is the cap on greenhouse gas emissions. We announced that the framework would be presented by the end of the year.
Thank you.
