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Environmental non-government organizations and civil society groups have been urging governments around the world to limit climate change to less then 2 degrees Celsius (2°c) globally. In Canada, a coalition of over 20 Canadian public interest groups launched the Kyotoplus campaign, designed to mobilize public support for an urgent solution to the global warming crisis.The initiative is premised on widely accepted scientific evidence, which demonstrates that to prevent catastrophic climate change impacts, the global average temperature increase above pre-industrial levels must be kept below 2°c. Manitoba Wildlands is a member group of the Kyotoplus campaign. Visit Kyotoplus website Sign Kyotoplus petition In response to a Freedom of Information request to the Government of Canada for "All documents or analysis prepared concerning a '2 degree Celsius' threshold limit for global warming (Time period: Jan. 1, 2006 - August 28, 2007)", the Government of Canada provided information concerning briefing material prepared on the issue.  Download February 25, 2008 Environment Canada briefing memos (PDF)Sources: Kyotoplus, Government of Canada
Canada's GHG Regulatory FrameworkOn March 10, 2008 the Government of Canada published details of Turning the Corner, its regulatory framework for greenhouse gas emissions, originally announced April 26, 2007 as part of Turning the Corner (its 'action plan' to reduce GHG emissions and air pollution). |
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| The federal regulation of industry's greenhouse gas emissions is intended to help achieve the Government's commitment to a 20% reduction in Canada's overall emissions (from 2006 levels) by 2020. This announcement reiterated mandatory reductions for industry announced in April 2007, along with additional new measures intended to address two of Canada's key emitting sectors: oil sands and electricity. Proposed greenhouse gas regulations are expected to be published in the Canada Gazette later this year, and regulations finalized in 2009 to come into force on January 1, 2010. |
 By Fred Curatolo larger version |
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View March 10, 2007 Government of Canada press release View March 2008 Canadian Government Regulatory Framework for Industrial Greenhouse Gas Emissions View other documents from Canadian Government's March 10, 2008 announcement Source: Government of Canada
The Sierra Club Canada issued its own response, saying the newly released details of the federal government's regulatory framework represent a missed opportunity for improving the government's inadequate approach to climate change. The regulatory framework employs an intensity-based rather than a cap and trade emissions system that places an absolute limit on emissions. Most large-scale emissions trading systems in the world, including the EU GHG emissions trading system, and the main air pollution trading systems in the US, are cap and trade systems. The updated version of Canada's regulatory framework retains the national target of 20% below 2006 by 2020; a target that falls short of what the science says is needed. Canada was part of the consensus in Bali December 2007 at UN Climate Change Talks, which recognizes that rich nations need to cut their greenhouse gas pollution by 25% - 40% below 1990 levels by 2020. The Federal government's announcement delays emissions reductions from new coal plants and tar sands projects by only requiring those coming into operation in 2012 or after to reduce emissions by 2018 at the earliest. The government's projections show its timeline for targets will allow oil sands companies to nearly triple their emissions by 2017 before dropping once new targets take effect 2018. By exempting facilities that start up before 2012, the federal timeline creates an incentive for companies to bring new oil sands facilities on stream more quickly to "beat the deadline" and avoid the targets. In documents submitted to the UN, the Government of Canada states that "Canada will require new oil sands facilities and coal-fired power generation plants to put in place large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) and other green technologies," leaving out that there is no "requirement" that facilities starting up before 2012 are exempt; and that CCS-level targets will only be applied starting in 2018. View March 27, 2008 Climate Action Network Canada press release View March 11, 2008 Sierra Club of Canada press release Download Pembina Institute Backgrounder, The March 2008 Federal Regulatory Framework for Industrial Greenhouse Gas EmissionsSources: Climate Action Network Canada, Sierra Club of Canada
Download the Manitoba Wildlands listing: Climate Change Plans Across Canada (PDF)Climate Change Adaptation Overdue in Canada
Natural Resources Canada's report From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007, a national study that reflects risks and opportunities of climate change for Canada was released by the federal government, after sections were leaked to the media in March, 2008. Canadians had waited since September 2007 for its release. Years of research and input from more than 140 experts across the country, including IPCC contributors, reveals Canada's vulnerability to climate change. "This report is yet another wake up call for a government that has not yet produced a meaningful climate change plan or passed any legislation to protect Canadians from global warming," said Graham Saul, Climate Action Network Canada. The report highlights impacts of greenhouse gas pollution for Canada, region by region and suggests that emission reduction is not enough. Canada must adapt and adjust decisions, activities and thinking to an already changing climate locally and on a national level. Key conclusions from assessment of climate change impacts and adaptation:
Download NRCAN report, From Impacts to Adaptation: Canada in a Changing Climate 2007 (PDF)View March 10, 2008 Climate Action Network article View March 14, 2008 National Post article View March 13, 2008 Green Living Online article Sources: Natural Resources Canada, CBC, Climate Action Network, National Post, Globe and Mail, Canadian Press, Green Living Online
NRTEE Slams Government's Kyoto Act Plan
According to Canada's National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE), the plan prepared by the federal government in response to its obligations under the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act exaggerates benefits of three of its nine climate-change programs and fails to provide sufficient information to support the other six programs.Further, the August 2007 plan (see section, 'Canadian Government Responds to Kyoto Act') will not result in sufficient greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions for Canada to meet its target for the 2008-2012 commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol. The NRTEE was careful not to pass judgment on the advisability of any Canadian government initiatives, yet the report is highly critical of the government's methods and assumptions in projecting its programs' results. The report says the government is using misleading methods, and notes "systematic" exaggeration, "double accounting,", "important inconsistency" and "overestimated" reductions that result in false conclusions about effectiveness of its plan. Authors of the NRTEE report, which included some of Canada's top business and environmental leaders, recommend the government pay closer attention to "transparency and clarity" when presenting greenhouse-gas reductions, and "consistency" in accounting for those reductions from department to department. The Roundtable did, however, note the government plan would, over time, result in significant emissions reductions. Under the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act, the Roundtable was required to advise the government on the effectiveness of its climate-change plan within 30 days of its release. View September 2007 National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE) report, Response of the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy to its Obligations Under the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act Visit Climate Action Network Canada View September 24, 2007 Canadian Press article View September 22, 2007 Toronto Star article View September 21, 2007 Canadian Press article in the Toronto Star Sources: Canadian Press, Toronto Star, NRTEE, CANet
Canadian Government Responds to Kyoto Act In August 2007 Canada's Environment Minister John Baird released the Government's response to the legal requirement under Bill C-288, The Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act, to "ensure that Canada meets its obligations under Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Kyoto Protocol" within two months from when the legislation comes into force (June 22, 2007).A Climate Change Plan for the Purposes of the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act 2007 was posted on the Environment Canada website on August 21, 2007. View the Environment Canada document, A Climate Change Plan for the Purposes of the Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act 2007 Minister Baird's response has been characterized as "thumbing its nose" at the opposition's legislative attempts to force compliance with the Kyoto Protocol. Minister Baird's plan simply re-packages its April 2007 climate change plan, Turning the Corner, and does not outline a path for Canada to meet its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. View the August 21, 2007 Canadian Press article on CTV News The plan repeats the argument that trying to meet Kyoto by 2012 would wreak economic disaster on the Canadian economy. This argument has been disputed by many experts and following the release of the Bill C-288 plan, a federal analysis questions the validity of Minister Baird's economic arguments against meeting Kyoto obligations. A four-page briefing note on the impact of Canada's international climate-change obligations said nothing to support Mr. Baird's warnings that the law could lead to massive job losses, rising energy prices and a recession. The document was obtained through and Access to Information request. View the August 22, 2007 Ottawa Citizen article Climate Action Network (CAN) Canada, a nation-wide network comprised of over 60 national and regional environmental groups, said the federal government's climate change plan fails to offer a credible plan to meet Kyoto and makes an increase in emissions in Canada an certainty. "The government's response to the Kyoto law is confused, unfocussed and illegal," said Steven Guilbeault, Greenpeace Canada. "While the urgency of dealing with climate change has never been clearer, the government has chosen to hide behind a package of inadequate old announcements. This is simply unacceptable." View the August 22, 2007 Climate Action Network Canada press release The Liberals, NDP and Bloc Quebecois pushed Bill C-288 through the House of Commons in June 2007 without the support of the governing Conservatives. Sources: CTV News, Ottawa Citizen, Government of Canada
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 By Frederick Deligne politicalcartoons.com larger version |
The Canadian Senate voted to pass the Liberal private member's Bill C-288 Friday, June 22, 2007, which obligates the Canadian government to meet Kyoto Protocol greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. Bill C-288 had previously passed in the House of Commons. For Canada, this target is a 6% cut in greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels by 2012. Canada made its international commitment to meeting emissions reduction targets under Kyoto when it signed on and ratified the Kyoto Protocol. |
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When it came into force in February 2005, Kyoto became legally binding for countries that ratified it. The passage of Bill C-288 is another legal affirmation of Canada's commitment to reduce emissions and comply with Kyoto provisions. Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez originally introduced Bill C-288, The Kyoto Protocol Implementation Act, May 17, 2006. Its provisions require the government to prepare a Climate Change Plan to "ensure that Canada meets its obligations under Article 3, paragraph 1, of the Kyoto Protocol" within two months from when the legislation comes into force (June 22, 2007). It also obligates the government to bring in regulations to "ensure that Canada fully meets its obligations" under Kyoto. The bill is controversial because:
View June 22, 2007 CTV News article View June 22, 2007 Agence France-Presse article on Raw Story Download June 21, 2007 Winnipeg Free Press article (DOC)View text of Bill C-288 - An Act to ensure Canada meets its global climate change obligations under the Kyoto Protocol - as passed by the House of Commons View information on the history and status of Bill C-288 Sources: CTV News, Agence France-Presse, Canadian Press |
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Following extensive hearings by the all-party House of Commons committee, the Conservative government's fall 2006 Clean Air Act (Bill C-30) re-emerged with a new name and in a substantively revised form. The 'Clean Air and Climate Change Act' was referred back to Parliament at the end of March 2007.The re-vamped Bill C-30 includes almost 100 amendments (most brought forward by opposition party members) and bears little resemblance to the bill first tabled by the Conservatives in October 2006. Among the key changes and measures included in Bill C-30:
The Conservative government has not made it clear whether and how it will act to move the re-written Bill C-30 through the legislative process. The government itself referred the legislation to the House committee, resulting in MPs from all political parties spending countless hours of time and energy on the amendment process, as well as expenditures to hold hearings. However, the Conservatives are not under any procedural obligation to bring the legislation before the House of Commons for a vote (second reading). An April 30, 2007 article quotes Government House Leader Peter Van Loan as saying that the government has "no intention" of passing Bill C-30, which means that the bill will die on the Order Paper. View the March 29, 2007 amendments to Bill C-30
The Clean Air Act:
All three opposition parties in the House of Commons said they would vote against the bill. In November 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed to an NDP demand to put the Clean Air Act before a House of Commons committee. The bill will undergo the unusual step of being reviewed by an all-party committee before second reading, It is expected that opposition critics will overhaul the bill in the committee process.
Canada's environment commissioner Johanne Gelinas used an audit of the former government's failure to reduce emissions to recommend that Canada's current federal government act swiftly against the pending climate crisis.The report, released September 28, 2006, said Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his government should not continue to use the lack of progress on Canada's Kyoto targets as an excuse to abandon the international pact. The Commissioner urged government to create a credible, realistic and clear plan with short- and long-term goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. View the 2006 Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development View the September 28, 2006 Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development press release Source: Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
Climate Change Web Pages GoneOn June 30, 2006, Canada's federal Conservative government quietly shut down the main public climate change website run by the Department of Natural Resources.http://www.climatechange.gc.ca and http://climatechange.nrcan.gc.ca are no longer available; visitors are directed to the main sites for Environment Canada and Natural Resources Canada.
Among the best known is the Energuide program, where homes renovated to save energy can qualify for a federal grant. A home retrofitted under the program cuts its energy use by an average of 30 per cent. Energuide had its budget slashed by $227 million over the next five years.The similar Energuide program for low-income households had its entire budget of more than $550 million cut. Four other programs have lost most, or all, of their funding. They include everything from money to develop new kinds of renewable energy, to a program to help people switch to more efficient furnaces. The cuts add up to just under $1 billion over the next five years. Source: CBC
Climate Change Programs AxedIn April 2006, leaked Cabinet documents revealed that Canada's Conservative government cut the 2006 budget for climate change programs by 40%. As a result, Environment Canada's budget was slashed by 80%.Only $375-million was approved for climate spending, with most of the funds going to cover staff salaries until the government determines next steps. As a result, much of the funds required to implement programs has vanished. Some of the cuts resulted from government's failure to renew multi-year funding programs established in 2000, which expired with the fiscal year on March 31st. View the April 13, 2006 Natural Resources Canada backgrounder The cuts included: 
The leaked Cabinet documents also alluded to the possibility of Canada clawing back $260-million pledged to the United Nations to fund international climate-change programs. Sources: Globe and Mail, Government of Canada, CBC
The Conservatives' campaign promise of tax breaks for transit passes will cost up to $2-billion over five years, but will result in an insignificant cut in greenhouse-gas emissions.Information leaked to the press in April 2006 indicated that senior officials in the Environment Ministry told the government its proposed tax credit for transit users will have virtually no impact on greenhouse-gas emissions and only a small effect on riders because the incentives are expected to spur only a small increase in the number of people willing to trade cars for buses and subways. Ministry officials say that, based on a 1997 Canadian study, as well as a U.S. Department of Labour survey in 2004, use can be expected to increase between 2% and 4%, meaning the effect on emissions will be negligible. In contrast, the Canadian Urban Transit Association estimated that the proposed tax break would increase transit use by up to 30 per cent by 2016. The leaked information shows that five transit tax-incentive options are being considered, ranging from a 16-per-cent tax credit for all fares, at a projected cost of $2-billion over five years, to a credit for monthly pass holders only, at $1-billion, to the same credit for high-school students only, at a cost of $90-million. Source: Globe and Mail
Canada Rejects Kyoto Targets
On April 7, 2006, Environment Minister Rona Ambrose publicly stated that Canada's federal government had abandoned its commitment to meet its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol."My departmental officials and the department officials from Natural Resources have indicated that it is impossible - impossible for Canada to reach its Kyoto target," she said. The international agreement requires Canada to cut its greenhouse gas emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012, but since 1990, emissions have gone up, with the latest figures showing an increase of almost 30 per cent. Under Kyoto, countries that fail to meet their emissions targets by the end of the first commitment period (2012) must make up the difference plus a penalty of 30 per cent in the second commitment period. Source: CBC
Regulation of Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) |
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| As part of Canada's climate change plan (2002), Moving Forward on Climate Change: A Plan for Honouring Our Kyoto Commitment, in summer 2005 the federal Government announced its intention to regulate Large Final Emitter (LFE) companies under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act 1999 (CEPA 1999). Large Final Emitters (LFEs) are companies that produce goods through a process that results in significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These emissions-intensive sectors include primary energy production, electricity production, and selected areas of mining and manufacturing production. Canada's Climate Change Plan (2002) defines large final emitter sectors using the following two criteria:
The process initiated in summer 2005 involved several steps and a series of consultations. In November 2005, six GHGs were added to Schedule 1 of CEPA 1999. There are no compliance or enforcement requirements associated with the addition of the GHGs to Schedule 1 itself; this is an enabling step that sets the stage for the development of regulations. Also in November 2005, the government released a draft for discussion purposes of the proposed regulations common to all sectors that will govern GHG emission reductions from large industrial facilities under CEPA 1999. With the January 2006 election and change in Canada's federal government, no further action on cross-cutting regulations with respect to greenhouse gases has been taken (as of September 2006). In July 2006, the federal government issued notice to facilities emitting GHG as to emissions reporting requirements for 2006. |
Chronology of the GHG Regulation Under CEPA 1999 July 15, 2005 - Notice of Intent to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Large Final Emitters (LFEs) published in the Canada Gazette, Part I. The Notice outlines how emission-reduction targets would be set, the mechanisms through which LFEs could meet their targets and the preferred regulatory option for implementing the system, under CEPA 1999. A 60-day public comment period followed. A response to the submissions received was published November 26, 2005. A summary of public comments was also published December 2, 2005. September 3, 2005 - Draft Order-in-Council for the addition of six greenhouse gases to Schedule 1 of the CEPA published in the Canada Gazette Part 1 (PDF) November 15, 2005 - Discussion draft of cross-cutting provisions of proposed regulations that will govern GHG emission reductions from large industrial facilities under CEPA 1999 (comment period closed January 12, 2006) The proposed cross-cutting provisions set out elements of the proposed regulations common to all sectors, while the sector-specific regulations will set individual emission targets for the various sectors, as well as specific reporting requirements. Following the public comment, the proposed cross-cutting elements of the regulations are to be published in the Canada Gazette Part I, in early 2006. Also in 2006, a series of sector-specific GHG emission target regulations are to be published for public comment. November 22, 2005 - announcement of the final Order-in-Council for the addition of six greenhouse gases (GHG) to Schedule 1 of CEPA 1999 November 30, 2005 - Final Order-in-Council for the addition of six GHGs to Schedule 1 of CEPA 1999 published in the Canada Gazette Part II (PDF) Updated Schedule 1 of CEPA 1999 July 15, 2006 - Notice with respect to reporting of greenhouse gases (GHGs) for 2006 |
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