Canada says it wants to slash its emissions by half by 2035. Will that be enough?

The report says a target in the government’s chosen range risks “putting Canada too far behind its net-zero goal and would likely represent insufficient ambition” compared to its partners, including other G7 countries.

Federal legislation required the target to be set this month as one of its checkpoints on the path to Canada’s 2050 net-zero target, a scenario in which it can take as many emissions out of the atmosphere as it puts in.

Global emissions need to hit net zero by around mid-century if the world wants to limit global warming to around 1.5 C and avert some of climate change’s most severe impacts, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a scientific body of the United Nations.

Canada’s advisory body has suggested the government is at risk of missing its 2030 target of a 40 to 45 per cent emissions cut, even if it implements all of its current climate plans.

Guilbeault said the government “needs to do more, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

“I think it’s important to send a signal to the Canadians, Canadian businesses, provinces, municipalities and other stakeholders who care deeply about this, that we’re continuing on the fight against climate change in Canada,” he said.

“We’ve done a lot in the in the last few years, but there’s still a long way to go.”

The target released Thursday received mixed reception by some in Canada’s climate policy circles.

The target is “reasonable,” said Mark Zacharias, executive director at Clean Energy Canada, a climate and clean energy think tank at Simon Fraser University.

He said provinces will also have to step up with actions to drive down emissions, such as policies to increase adoption of energy efficient heat pumps and electric vehicles.

“Setting a target that you can meet actually allows you to back calculate around what … policies you need in place to get there, and it becomes a very, very reasonable discussion around how to get to a particular target,” said Zacharias.

It’s not good enough, suggested Caroline Brouillette, executive director of Climate Action Network Canada, a coalition of advocacy groups.

She called the new target “weak.”

“The federal government could have used this target to set a bold vision to diversify our economy towards affordable, reliable energy sources, and reduce our dependence on the whims of belligerent climate deniers,” she wrote in a statement.

“Instead, it has chosen to cave.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2024.

Jordan Omstead, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Canada says it wants to slash its emissions by half by 2035. Will that be enough?

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