A new Canadian Climate Accountability Act was introduced in November 2020, Healthy Environment and Healthy Economy, in December 2020. The Pan Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate was brought out in July 2020 - developed with the provinces and territories and in consultation with Indigenous peoples - to meet our emissions reduction targets, grow the economy, and build resilience to a changing climate.
These look like good plans and projections. We can only hope that it will all work. One needs to look fairly deep to see specific numbers, there are a few. For the next 5 years, most of Canada is to be decreasing emissions or holding steady; Alberta is still projected to be increasing GHG emissions. It is hard to find specific numbers and goals among all the good words in these new plans. Time will tell, actual numbers over time, will show the real story.
Canada has a mixed record. At a 1992 UN conference, Canada was seen as a leader. This did not last long. In 2009, Canada was part of a G-20 agreement to end all subsidies to fossil fuel industries; this is still only partially implemented. In 2002, Canada was part of the Kyoto protocol, agreeing to reduce GHG emissions 6% below 1990 levels by 2012. By 2010 Canadian emissions had increased by 30% over 1990 levels. (The US and China were not part of Kyoto ) Canada withdrew in 2011. A Copenhagen agreement in 2009 called for a 17% reduction in GHG emissions from 2005 to 2020. The emission level in Canada has been constant since 2005. There was a large decrease when Ontario closed its last coal-fired electricity generating plants in 2014. But Alberta kept producing more oil, particularly tar sands oil. Most of the production of this oil has a higher environmental cost than other types of oil; newer plants are doing better.
The current federal government is passing hopeful legislation. (Change is hard particularly when we all, all societies, are addicted to cheap energy.) There are cabinet level positions for environment and climate change in the federal gov’t and opposition parties.
60% of Canada’s electricity comes from renewable sources. In Manitoba and Quebec more than 95% of electricity is hydro electricity. (First Nations communities have some stories to tell about this.)
Generating electricity by burning coal is decreasing (43% of Alberta electricity still comes from coal burning!!)
In 2018-19, federal and provincial gov’t and industry spent approximately one billion dollars on hydrocarbon energy research and development, and just over 900 million on R&D for renewable energy sources. More than half of these amounts came from industry.
Focus, focus!
In addition to all the nice words and rhetoric about goals, specific actions are needed SOON, not in 5 or 10 years. Great pronouncements were made in spring, 2021 - reduce emissions 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. Canada has some good sounding legislation, but Canada has not met any of its climate goals in the last 20 years!! International science panels are saying that current goals, Paris agreement goals, will not keep average global temperature below 2° C. Meteorologist agree that anything more than a 2°C rise in average global temperature would bring dramatic negative consequence for the oceans and world climate patterns.
Yes, Canada has a carbon tax. But also, in Canada the oil and gas industry receives over $3 billion (some cash and mostly tax breaks) in subsidies ANNUALLY. (Search for Cdn gov’t subsidies to oil and gas.) Approximately half of this is in and by Alberta. Already in 2009 Canada as part of the G20 agreed to stop subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. Not much has happened yet. So there is a carbon tax, but on the other hand the industry is being “paid” almost $20/tonne to pollute. STOP the subsidies. Use these funds to move jobs and the economy to other energy sources. Ontario has already shut down all coal-fired electricity production.
Further, there must be reduction and shutting down production. This is a delicate and critical task. Much of this reduction will need to be in Alberta and there is already a lot of talk of “western alienation.” There are bad memories and myths about a national energy policy fifty years ago. Children yet unborn need us to act now.
ACAN seeks to educate and inspire sustainable practices in our community.
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