Climate Leadership Blog Series – Part 2

Canada’s Climate Commitment

Part two in a series of three.

So what does all this mean for Canada? On October 5, federal Members of Parliament voted 207 to 81 to back the climate change agreement reached in Paris. Under this accord, Canada agrees to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent from 2005 levels by the year 2030. From a recent CBC article, “Canada is among the 191 signatories to the international climate agreement, but countries must individually ratify the deal. Wednesday [October 5] night’s vote was on a government motion and therefore not binding, but its passage is seen as symbolically significant in the ratification process.”

Wondering how the temperature reduction of 20C was decided? Watch this one-minute video from the BBC.

This commitment will involve many factors, including green infrastructure plans, new technology development and adoption, conservation methods, sector-by-sector regulations, and the much-discussed carbon pricing strategy. Prime Minister Trudeau has announced that the price of carbon will start at a minimum of $10 a tonne in 2018, rising by $10 each year to $50 a tonne by 2022, and that the federal government will impose pricing for those provinces that do not.

Read a recent Toronto Star article on the proposed national carbon pricing plan, including where revenues are allocated

Phasing out coal will be a major part of Canada’s efforts: as you likely know, coal-fired power plants have already been phased out in Ontario, and plans are in the works to implement similar shifts from fossil fuels to renewables in other provinces, notably Alberta. Catherine McKenna has stated that an accelerated phase-out of coal could also help meet Canada’s emission reduction targets, given the enormous impact of eliminating a major contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.

According to the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, phasing out the use of coal fired electricity in Ontario represented a greenhouse gas reduction equivalent of taking 7 million cars off the road.

But what other shifts will Canada and other member parties commit to in order to ensure we achieve emissions reduction targets? (Including a gradual shift to renewables over the next 30 years). 

Stay tuned for a follow-up blogpost about what we can expect when member parties meet in Marrakech, Morocco, for COP22 – as well as how you can take action for a better climate future.