At a news conference held in Ottawa on April 26, Commissioner for the Environment and Sustainable Development Jerry DeMarco answers a question about his most recent report.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
According to a series new reports by the federal environmental commissioner, Ottawa is failing to deliver on key climate policy goals and may be exaggerating the effectiveness of others. This cast doubt on the credibility of the Liberal government’s emission-reduction plans.
Together, the five reports released Tuesday morning by Jerry DeMarco (Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development) paint a picture that shows a government struggling to implement critical aspects of the climate agenda. These reports included information on: the transition of workers away from fossil fuel industries, the greening government operations, climate resilient infrastructure, hydrogen and carbon pricing.
Mr. DeMarco cited disorganization in multiple departments, a dearth of data and reporting and unrealistic assumptions regarding Canada’s hydrogen strategy as well as questionable funding decisions. One case involved federal dollars that were meant to support communities affected in the transition away coal-fired electricity being used to renovate a college property for summer accommodation for seasonal workers in Atlantic Canada.
After Mr. DeMarco’s assessments were submitted Tuesday morning to the House of Commons on Tuesday, he said that the Canadian government needed to be more open and transparent. They must follow up on their words with actions.
The federal spending pledges have been awash with climate programs that are expanding and creating new ones. These include clean hydrogen, carbon capture and utilization storage (CCUS), and other climate programs. The government’s latest budget included a series of tax credits as well as a $15-billion investment fund that will leverage private capital to help the country reach its climate goals. Ottawa’s $9.1 billion plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% below 2005 levels by the end the decade.
To achieve these goals, drastic changes are required. In his report published last fall Mr. DeMarco stated that Canada had the worst record of emissions in the G7 since 2015’s Paris climate agreement. The Paris agreement is designed to limit global warming below 1.5 C, which is 1.5 C less than preindustrial levels.
Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped 9 per cent in the first year after the pandemic. The reductions were driven primarily COVID-19 recession, and the decline of road and air travel due the provincial lockdowns. Canada’s next inventory report will show that emissions are expected to rebound.
Too harsh on Indigenous groups, too little biz, too weak for industry: Environment commissioner
According to the federal Environment Commissioner, Canada’s emissions are at their worst in the G7.
Five audits by Mr. DeMarco covered different time periods, but most focused on a period between 2017 or 2018, and the fall or winter 2021. The hydrogen report covered the time period from early December 2019 to mid-January 2019.
The commissioner noted problems with the carbon pricing systems Ottawa had set up to increase carbon pollution costs on consumers. He also found problems with a second system that applies only to the country’s largest polluters. If a territory or province doesn’t have a carbon-pricing strategy or falls below the federal standard, it must create a backstop to apply the minimum price through federal taxes.
Mr. DeMarco discovered that Ottawa approved a patchwork system at the provincial level that results in weaker standards for large emitters. He cited Ontario as an example of a provincial with a weak large emitters system. He stated that the large emitters program is a poor example of the polluter pays principle.
Mr. DeMarco pointed out that the policy on the consumer carbon price has a significant impact on Indigenous groups and small businesses, despite efforts by the government to reduce it. He found that Newfoundland and Labrador’s, Prince Edward Island’s and New Brunswick’s systems do not meet federal standards.
Tuesday’s Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault stated to reporters that his government is in negotiations with the provinces, territories, and other governments to tighten the carbon pricing system for big polluters. He said that the government is working to increase certainty and fairness in carbon pricing across Canada.
According to the report of the commissioners, hydrogen showed that the federal government overestimated the importance of the chemical element in meeting the country’s 2030 emissions targets. Mr. DeMarco stated that Natural Resources Canada’s projected reduction in emissions from clean hydrogen technologies is three-times greater than the Environment Canada 15 megatonne reduction. Mr. DeMarco found that the federal hydrogen strategy was undermined by the optimism of the natural resource departments.
The government has committed to tax credits for clean technology investments, and CCUS, since the audit period for the report was over. DeMarco spoke Tuesday to say that the new policies improve the economics for hydrogen, but there are still elements of the government’s assumptions that need to addressed, such technology development and infrastructure.
Jonathan Wilkinson, Natural Resources Minister, said Tuesday that the government’s hydrogen strategy was aspirational. He said it was directional. It is essentially a way to direct us to the destination we want.
The matter of a just transformation was also examined by the commissioner. This refers both to the government’s commitment to support those affected in a transition away from fossil fuels as well as to minimize the economic impact of that transition to a low carbon economy. In 2016, the Liberals announced a rapid phase-out plan for traditional coal-fired electricity in Canada by 2030. This is a move that will affect workers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
Natural Resources Canada was chosen as the delivery department. just-transition 2019 legislation Mr. DeMarco stated it It took little action before 2021 and has yet not to introduce the act. The commissioner found that several departments and regional agencies had adopted a business-as usual approach and relied on existing programs that were not designed for a just transition.
Mr. DeMarco spoke out about the 1990s fall of the northern cod fishery, and its effects on the Newfoundland and Labrador labour force. Analyse to determine which policies or programs should be increased to support a transition from fossil fuels.
His government is not eliminating all fossil fuels, Mr. Wilkinson said. He said that the world will continue to use oil and gas over the next decades, but that instead of burning it, it will be used for lubricants and petrochemicals.
He said that sometimes we in this country get caught up in the belief that fossil fuels are the enemy. It is actually carbon emissions that are the enemy to climate change.
Mr. DeMarcos Two other reports The greening of government and climate resilient infrastructure are the key themes. On the first, Mr. DeMarco discovered that many departments have not done enough to make their operations more sustainable. He concluded that Infrastructure Canada does not have sufficient information to determine if federally funded climate-ready infrastructure projects are actually creating more resilient infrastructure.
A report by Emma Graney, Edmonton
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