Unceded Algonquin Anishinaabe Territories [OTTAWA], 12 December 2024:
Today, Canada’s federal government announced its 2035 climate target: a reduction of 45-50% greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels.
Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada, issued the following statement in response:
“Climate targets are not only about greenhouse gas emissions—they are about setting the direction for the Canadian economy for the coming years.
“The federal government could have used this target to set a bold vision to diversify our economy towards affordable, reliable energy sources, reduce our dependence on the whims of belligerent climate deniers, and build a more equitable, resilient society. Instead, Prime Minister Trudeau has chosen to cave. This weak target is deeply disconnected from Canada’s fair share of the global climate effort, and from the level of ambition we are seeing in other countries.
“How short is the political class’s memory when it comes to the climate disasters that are devastating Canadians’ lives? 2024 has been the costliest year on record for weather disasters in Canada. This is already affecting Canadians’ health, insurance premiums and grocery bills.
“Meanwhile, oil and gas backed-disinformation campaigns and efforts to roll back progress are on the rise in our country as well as to the South of the border. It has been alarming to see, with some rare exceptions, our politicians engage in a race to the bottom—at a moment when we most need leadership to confront the billionaires profiting from burning our world down.
“The choices the government makes in the next few weeks will determine our capacity to reach and surpass those targets, or again surrender and lower our ambition. The Clean Electricity Regulations and Oil and Gas Pollution Cap regulations must be fast-tracked and implemented without further delay.”
Further context:
- According to Climate Action Network Canada’s analysis, Canada’s fair share of the global effort to limit temperature rise to 1.5°C would require domestic emissions reductions of 80% below 2005 levels by 2035. (See CAN-Rac’s full recommendations for Canada’s next Nationally Determined Contribution.)
- Canada’s weak target puts it further out of step with international allies. The United Kingdom recently announced that it would cut emissions by 81% below 1990 levels by 2035. Brazil’s 2035 target (which was criticized for its lack of ambition)—aimed for 59 to 67% emissions reductions below 2005 levels by 2030.
- Recent polling shows seven in ten Canadians want the next federal government to do more to fight climate change.
- Canada is among the top ten countries with the largest cumulative emissions, and thus a significant historical responsibility for causing the climate crisis. On a per-capita basis, it is within the top two.
- While CAN-Rac encourages the government to strive for and beyond the upper target of 50%, making the target a range is unusual on the international scene. A range allows the government to take credit for more than it is actually committing to achieving—and suggests an upper limit on ambition, when the goal should be to accelerate emissions reductions as quickly and deeply as possible.
- Under the Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, the 2035 target was required to consider four elements: best available science, international commitments, Indigenous knowledge, and advice from the Net Zero Advisory Body. However, Canada has not considered how these should work in conversation with one another. As a result, not only does the Best Available Science annex fail to meaningfully engage with Indigenous science, the 2035 target has no real engagement with the recommendations stemming from the Indigenous Knowledge Annex. This follows a pattern of continued epistemic violence that reduces the ethical and equitable engagement with Indigenous knowledge systems, and continues to systemically exclude First Nations, Inuit, and Metis perspectives from climate policy-making.
- As Minister Guilbeault has noted, it is crucial that provinces also take responsibility and leadership on climate action. Recent studies from the Pembina Institute and Clean Energy Canada have found significant gaps in provincial efforts.
- The Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act also required the federal government to set its 2035 target by December 1, 2024. Its failure to publicly release the target by that date sets a concerning precedent for future governments.
- Minister Guilbeault also announced a carbon management strategy to explore the role that carbon removal can play in furthering emissions reductions, but this is not included in the target—a positive given the uncertainty and risk associated with these unproven carbon removal technologies. However, if the government—and carbon removal industry—consider their contribution to reducing emissions to be risky, they should also be honest about the financial risk they have imposed on Canadian taxpayers through the billions of dollars the industry is receiving in subsidies.
Quotes:
Sabaa Khan, Climate Director and Director-General of Quebec and Atlantic Canada, David Suzuki Foundation:
“We are in a race to drastically reduce pollution and prevent the catastrophic effects of climate change, but not all sectors and provinces are doing their part. Canada’s inadequate new target reflects the fossil fuel industry’s outsized influence on our climate action. The fossil fuel industry’s pollution and political influence in Canada remain the biggest obstacles to meeting any climate target, as industry continues to have a chokehold on climate policy.”
Amara Possian, Canada Team Lead, 350.org:
“This target is a slap in the face to Canadians who are already living through devastating climate disasters. It not only falls short of the ambition required to address the climate crisis and meet our national and global obligations, but disregards scientific consensus and recommendations, as well as side steps Canada’s fair share of the global effort as a rich, historic polluter.
“We need leadership that rises to this moment–not one that sides with fossil fuel industries that are continuing to torch our planet for profit. Canada remains hostage to an outdated oil-driven agenda that clings to the energy past, when the future demands bold action and leadership on climate. Instead, it must lead with a vision for a resilient, equitable, and diversified economy powered by clean energy.”
Thomas Arnason McNeil, Senior Energy Coordinator, Ecology Action Centre:
“Canada’s lack of ambition when it comes to reducing pollution and preventing the devastating effects of climate change – which are already impacting our coastal communities – is on full display with the release of this disappointing target. Atlantic Canadians increasingly recognize the transition away from fossil fuels as an opportunity to create jobs and reduce our reliance on expensive and polluting technologies like coal and fuel oil.
“We need our government to send a clear message that the interests of working class Canadians are more important than those of the fossil fuel industry. This target fails to do that.”
Maryo Wahba, Climate Justice Policy Analyst, Citizens for Public Justice:
“Canada’s 2035 emissions target is deeply inadequate, falling far short of the 80% fair share reduction goal and the Net Zero Advisory Body’s recommendation of up to 55%. This target reflects a failure to address Canada’s disproportionately high historical emissions and adds to its troubling track record of never meeting a climate goal.
“Carbon pollution is a federal responsibility. Instead of deflecting blame onto provincial politics, Canada must regulate emissions in fossil-fuel-dependent provinces and adopt policies that incentivize the transition to a low-carbon economy—such as the Futures Fund—to meet the urgency of the climate crisis.”
Andrew Gage, Staff Lawyer, West Coast Environmental Law:
“Weak climate action will ultimately cost Canadians – as we’ve seen with forest fires and floods, but also increasing grocery prices and insurance premiums which are affected by the climate crisis. Canada’s 2035 target, announced today, will make it difficult, if not impossible, to achieve Canada’s commitment to eliminate its greenhouse gas pollution by 2050. Each year we delay costs Canadians dearly.”
Cathy Orlando, National Director Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada:
“The people of Canada technically own the disappointing 2035 climate target, but let’s be clear: they are not the ones to blame. Since at least 1967, Big Oil has systematically used a playbook of deceptive narratives to weaken and delay climate action.
“Canadians are being misled while Big Oil and its enablers have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into spreading falsehoods about climate solutions on social media in the past year. It’s imperative that the Government of Canada steps up its efforts to combat this disinformation and ensure the public has access to accurate, science-based information about the urgent need for evidence-based climate targets and solutions.”
Conor Curtis, Head of Communications, Sierra Club Canada:
“The majority of Canadians support climate action and what we most need now are strong climate targets and policies like the emissions cap that focus on going after Canada’s worst polluters – oil and gas corporations. These measures are necessary, practical and, despite all the corporate money spent to oppose them, they remain very popular in Canada.”
Julia Croome, Director of Litigation, Ecojustice:
“The Net Zero Emissions Accountability Act requires the government to set meaningful targets every five years — and outline concrete plans to achieve them. But the legislation is meant to drive ambition, which brings us back to the target: Canada is only just moving in the right direction – and far too slowly to meet the urgency of the climate crisis.
“An emissions reduction target is meant to act as the country’s North star for climate action. It should reflect the science and Canadians’ ambition to tackle the climate crisis. The 2035 target announced today is disappointing, both because it falls short of Canada’s fair share and of the 50-55% target recommended by the very scientists and experts Canada appointed to guide us. While Ecojustice applauds meaningful action the federal government has taken to meet its climate commitments, including implementing the Emissions Cap and clean energy regulations, it’s clear that far more ambition is needed to respond to the crisis we’re in. Setting a more ambitious target is not the stuff of fairy tales – other countries are doing it, and innovative policy solutions exist that could help us get there, from phasing out fossil fuel production to ensuring Canada’s financial sector is aligned with Canada’s climate commitments.”
“The upper range of the new target, 50 per cent reductions by 2035, will merely keep Canada on the least ambitious pathway possible to achieve Net Zero by 2050. At a minimum the government must treat 50% as its true target. Anything less will abandon Canada’s commitment under the Paris Agreement to a safe climate.”
Anjali Appadurai, Campaigns Director, Climate Emergency Unit:
“Today’s announcement is a devastating blow to climate justice efforts around the world.
“Climate experts and advocates have determined that Canada’s fair share of the global effort is around 80% domestic emissions reductions from 2005 levels by 2035, plus additional support to the Global South. While other jurisdictions have managed to produce ambitious climate targets, Canada’s announcement of a 45-50% reduction is deeply inadequate and further exposes us as laggards and selfish profiteers in the global community.
“Despite the challenges that come with being a federation, we need imaginative and transformative leadership from the federal government to create programs and institutions for a post-fossil fuel economy. Canada must utilize instruments like a windfall profits tax to curb the greed of the fossil fuel industry, while incentivizing a low-carbon future.
“The lack of ambition in today’s announcement means that our government is failing us and failing the rest of the world, choosing to remain beholden to powerful fossil fuel interests and short-term profits.”
Catherine Abreu, Canadian climate policy expert and Director of the International Climate Politics Hub:
“Canada’s 2035 climate target is incredibly disappointing.
“Setting a goal of 45-50% emissions reductions in 2035 means this government is suggesting climate pollution either won’t decrease at all in the 5 years between 2030 and 2035, or will only decline by 1% each of those years. This is frankly pathetic given the pace of pollution cuts we’re already seeing from our major trading partners – the US, UK, and EU decreased their emissions by 3%, 5%, and 8% respectively in 2023 alone.
“Canada’s credibility with our global peers will be injured by a low ambition climate goal that sticks out like a sore thumb amidst the targets that other G7 nations are putting forward.
“It’s painful to see a government that has spent most of the last decade working hard to revolutionize Canadian climate policy put out a target that projects those policies will fail to do what they’re designed to.
“Here again we see evidence of the stranglehold fossil fuel interests have on Canada’s climate ambition, which have stalled efforts to seriously address oil and gas emissions and allowed them to balloon to account for a third of Canada’s overall climate pollution, while holding back any attempt to modernize Canadian fiscal policies and incentivize a move to clean energy systems.”
30-
Canada’s farthest-reaching network of organizations working on climate and energy issues, Climate Action Network – Réseau action climat (CAN-Rac) Canada is a coalition of over 180 organizations operating from coast to coast to coast. Our membership brings environmental groups together with trade unions, First Nations, social justice, development, health and youth organizations, faith groups and local, grassroots initiatives.
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Vicky Coo, Communications Manager
comms@climateactionnetwork.ca