Time running out for Canada to meet climate target: audit
"The stakes grow ever higher each year, and the window of opportunity to reduce emissions and meet Canada's 2030 target is rapidly closing," Environment Commissioner Jerry DeMarco said, presenting a report on the government's climate policy.
"It's not time to give up," he told a news conference, calling for stepped up climate efforts and insisting it was still possible to meet the target.
According to the report, Ottawa "has not made sufficient progress" to reduce emissions by up to 45 percent from 2005 levels and now has only six years to achieve most of the reductions.
An audit of a sampling of 20 policy measures out of 149 showed nine were "on track," such as incentives for buying zero-emissions vehicles, while nine faced challenges and two faced "significant barriers," including a proposed oil gas sector emissions cap announced on Monday that was met with pushback.
Government estimates of expected emissions reductions in several cases were also "overly optimistic," said the report.
Canada is responsible for less than two percent of global GHG emissions, but it is one of the highest emitters per capita.
It is also the world's fourth-largest oil producer.
Canada's greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by 7.1 percent from 2005 levels to 708 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to the latest government data.
Last year, Ottawa said it expects the reductions to reach 36.2 percent by 2030.
Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Thursday he accepted the commissioner's recommendations while lamenting strong resistance to federal climate policies from the opposition and several provinces.
"We're continuing to move along with the implementation of our plan," he said, adding: "We have a fair shot at meeting our 2030 target."
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