441-01791 (Environment)

Over the past six years, the Government of Canada has demonstrated leadership on climate change and clean growth, at home and abroad. It understands that accelerated efforts are crucial to reduce emissions rapidly by 2030, and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Canada has invested more than $100 billion to address climate change since 2015 and has recently announced $9.1 billion in new investments.

In 2021, Canada adopted an enhanced 2030 emissions reduction target of 40-45% below 2005 levels, and passed legislation to enshrine its commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 in law. The Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act provides a durable framework of accountability and transparency to deliver on this commitment.

On March 29, 2022, Canada tabled the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Canada’s Next Steps for Clean Air and a Strong Economy (ERP)in Parliament and released the plan. The 2030 Plan is the Government’s next major step in taking action to Canada’s climate objectives and create good, sustainable jobs in Canada.

Achieving Canada's climate goals requires all sectors of the economy to pursue decarbonization in ways that make cleaner initiatives more affordable and create new, sustainable job opportunities for workers. In addition, the 2030 ERP reflects input received from thousands of Canadians, businesses and communities, as well as submissions from Indigenous partners, provinces and territories and the Carbon Neutrality Advisory Group.

The 2030 ERP builds on the significant progress Canada had already made to address climate change, including the actions outlined in the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, and Canada’s strengthened climate plan, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, released in 2020. With the 2030 ERP, the Government of Canada is taking additional actions, including:

• Working with industry, stakeholders, provinces and territories, Indigenous peoples and others to develop a cap on emissions from the oil and gas sector;
• Developing a national net-zero by 2050 buildings strategy, the Canada Green Buildings Strategy;
• Investing in nature and natural climate solutions through the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund to deliver additional emission reductions from nature-based climate solutions;
• Working with provinces, territories, industry, and other stakeholders on the design of a Clean Electricity Standard to achieve a net-zero electricity grid by 2035;
• Helping industries decarbonize by adopting clean technology in their journey to net-zero emissions; and
• Ensuring that workers and communities are able to benefit from the opportunities that the transition to a low-carbon economy presents, including by making significant investments in skills training and continuing consultations on the development of Sustainable Jobs and Skills legislation.

The 2030 ERP is designed to be an evergreen roadmap to guide emissions reduction efforts. As governments, businesses, non-profits, and communities across the country work together, Canada will identify and respond to new opportunities.

Capping and cutting oil and gas sector emissions, with milestones set at a pace that aligns with achieving Canada’s 2030 and net-zero by 2050 climate change objectives will send a clear, long-term policy signal to invest in clean technology, low-emissions energy assets, and supporting infrastructure while avoiding investments in oil and gas production that do not incorporate best-in-class technologies.

In 2022, the Government published a discussion paper titled Options to cap and cut oil and gas sector greenhouse gas emissions to achieve 2030 goals and net-zero by 2050, which sought input on two potential regulatory approaches to implement the cap: the development of a new cap-and-trade system under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999; and the modification of existing carbon pollution pricing systems under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. The Government plans to release further details before the end of 2023.

The oil and gas emissions cap will build on other measures in place to reduce emissions from the sector, including carbon pollution pricing, Clean Fuel Regulations and methane regulations.

On July 24, 2023, the Government of Canada released the Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies Government of Canada Self-Review Assessment Framework and the Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies Government of Canada Guidelines, which were jointly developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the Department of Finance Canada. The Guidelines apply to all federal departments and agencies. The Framework and Guidelines fulfill Canada’s domestic, G7 and G20 commitments to phase out and rationalize inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by 2023. Canada is the first country to release a rigorous analytical guide that both fulfills this commitment and transparently supports action. The Guidelines will also be used to prevent the creation of inefficient fossil fuel subsidies in the future.