Published On: October 3, 2024

Unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin Territories [OTTAWA], 3 October 2024:

Today, Climate Action Network Canada (CAN-Rac) released Paving the Way to an Equitable Future, a new analysis on Canada’s progress towards reaching its 2030 climate commitment, and recommendations for its next Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).

Under the Paris Agreement, countries are required to submit updated NDCs every five years, setting out how they will contribute to the global effort to limit climate change. The next round of NDCs, including 2035 emissions reduction targets, is due in early 2025.

“Canada will be submitting its new NDC right as it takes on the G7 Presidency,” said Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director of CAN-Rac. “Canada is still one of the world’s biggest polluters and producers of fossil fuels, but we have the resources and the opportunity to change that legacy.

“NDCs sound wonky and esoteric. But at their heart, they’re about a vision for where we’ll be in ten years and how we get there. How we build a country that is safe for current and future generations; how we diversify the economy to create good, unionized and sustainable jobs; how we work together to tackle injustices and protect each other. As a national election campaign heats up, what question could be more fundamental for our leaders to answer?”

Canada’s last NDC, updated in 2021, committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 40-45% below 2005 levels by 2030. In the lead-up to its release, CAN-Rac published A People’s Plan, laying out seven benchmarks for an ambitious and equitable NDC.

Today’s analysis assesses how Canada has done in meeting those benchmarks, and how its updated NDC can help fill these gaps.

The report comes in the wake of climate marches across the country over the last few weeks, as well as global mobilizations in support of Climate Finance & A Fossil-Free Future. A recent estimate from the Canadian Climate Institute shows that progress in reducing emissions remains unequal across sectors, and that accelerating policy momentum is crucial for Canada to reach its 2030 target. Meanwhile, Canada is in the midst of setting its next international climate finance commitment–a crucial component of wealthy countries’ obligation under the Paris Agreement.

The next round of NDCs will be a key issue at COP29 next month. Ministers and negotiators will meet next week for pre-COP meetings in Baku, Azerbaijan, to lay the groundwork for the negotiations.

“For all of us, and especially for marginalized communities and those at the frontlines of climate change, the stakes are existential,” added Caroline Brouillette. “Canada must set ambitious targets for 2035 while revisiting and strengthening its 2030 targets. These pledges and plans will either bring us closer to a tipping point of climate catastrophe, or move us towards building a more just and sustainable future.”

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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 more than 160 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