Environment minister to table emissions reduction plan Tuesday

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault rises during Question Period, Wednesday, March 23, 2022 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Environment and Climate Minister Steven Guilbeault will unveil details of the federal government’s Emissions Reduction Plan on Tuesday in the House of Commons.

The plan will map out specific actions the government will take to meets its emission reducing targets.

Last June, the federal government passed the Net-Zero Accountability Act, which commits Canada to achieving net-zero green house gas emissions by 2050. The act also establishes the target to reduce emissions to between 40 and 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

The plan was originally set to be delivered in December, six months after the act was given royal assent, but was pushed back to allow for more consultation with partners and stakeholders.

Canada made its first real commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions with the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in 2002, agreeing to cut total greenhouse gas emissions by an average of six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012.

National levels have remained largely the same, with a decrease of just 1 per cent between 2005 and 2019.