Senate’s new net-zero policy has ‘ambitious but achievable’ targets, says Sen. Deacon
The Red Chamber has a new green target after adopting an environmental and sustainability plan that one of the policy’s authors says is the first of its kind for a national parliamentary body. “We have to, as an organization, address our own climate footprint and hold ourselves to account,” said Independent Senator Colin Deacon (Nova […]
Feds must solve ‘certainty challenge’ to reach emissions targets: Q&A with Michael Bernstein
The Liberal government’s “ambitious” emissions reduction plan lacks priorities and appears “closer to a wish list” than an action plan, says Michael Bernstein, the executive director of a think tank devoted to climate change policy. “One of the concerns I took away after having read the plan is just what a long list of items […]
Politics This Morning: Guilbeault taking questions on climate plan, new IPCC report
Good Monday morning, There are three more days to go until Finance Minister CHRYSTIA FREELAND tables Budget 2022. Expect the usual jockeying to shape the conversation before and after it is released. The House of Commons is sitting today and the rest of this week, before taking a two-week break. The Senate is not sitting […]
Feds’ zero emissions plan a good first step, but getting there will be an enormous challenge
TORONTO—The federal government has taken an important and necessary step in publishing its first Zero Emissions Reduction Plan, which sets out how it might achieve its 2030 pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a level 40 per cent below that recorded in 2005. Achieving that target is an important ambition for our country. However, […]
Canadians can’t afford further dawdling on emissions targets
Canadians can be forgiven for approaching the Trudeau government’s latest environmental plan with more than a modicum of skepticism. The plan, tabled on March 29 by Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, says that to meet the ambitious reduction target for greenhouse gas emissions of 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, the oil […]
Could 2022 be the year that Canada reaches ‘peak plastic’?
Could this be the year that Canada reaches “peak plastic,” marking the beginning of the end of the growing plastic disaster? With the soon-to-be-implemented ban on certain single-use plastics, and commitments to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have a real opportunity to ensure Canada’s use […]
Climate change most pressing issue of our time, says British Columbia letter writer
I’m a grandparent with two darling grandchildren, whom I love very much. And I believe climate change is the most pressing issue of our time. We are in a climate emergency. In 2021, extreme weather fuelled by the climate crisis made headlines around the world—heat domes, forest fires, floods, droughts. Climatologists expect more records to be broken and more destructive […]
Canada’s next agricultural policy framework must promote the uptake of agricultural natural climate solutions
Farmers are facing increasing drought, flooding, and depleted soils, but there are opportunities we can act on now to support their resilience. And as allies in the fight against climate change, their role in reducing emissions will be vital for meeting Canada’s 2030 goals, as well as fuelling a green economic transition. A peer-reviewed study […]
Politics of Parliament gets in the way of MPs’ environmental leadership
If you’ve experienced déjà vu lately when it comes to environmental news from Parliament Hill, you’re not alone. In December 2021, NDP MP Richard Cannings introduced private members’ bills to strengthen waterway protections and create an environmental bill of rights. Soon after, Green Party MP Elizabeth May tabled Bill C-226 to tackle environmental racism. Then […]
Canadians increasingly want government to meet climate targets, even if it means higher energy prices, polls suggest
Faced with the fall out of a pandemic, concern about the rising cost of living, and emergence of the war in Ukraine, how are Canadians thinking about our climate and energy policies? One would think a focus on energy and environment would take a back seat or even be stowed away in the public policy […]
