Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan - Minister’s foreword
On climate action, it is amazing to see the pace of progress from coast to coast to coast. No matter what part of the country I visit, I meet families, youth, workers, Indigenous Peoples, and businesses building a better future in their communities. There is no doubt: Canadians are facing climate change head-on, developing and adopting solutions to the greatest challenge of our time. As a government, we stand with them.
On behalf of the Government of Canada, I am excited to present Canada’s first Emissions Reduction Plan under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. The plan lays out the next steps as we ramp up our fight against climate change and bring sustainable, lasting economic prosperity to Canada.
The science is clear. Reducing carbon pollution to net zero by 2050 is our best chance of keeping the planet livable for our children and grandchildren. Achieving net zero means we need to reduce emissions to the point that the carbon emissions that we do produce can be negated through measures like tree planting or carbon capture technologies. Countries around the world are stepping up to the challenge of keeping global warming below 1.5°C by achieving net zero by 2050.
This is our ambitious and achievable roadmap to reach our emissions reduction target under the Paris Agreement. It reflects the input of thousands of Canadians. And I know that we can get there, because we have already come such a long way together.
Since 2015, we have turned the tables of our emissions trajectory: where we were once projecting an increase in emissions by 2030, we have now flattened the curve and are on track to achieving our target and putting Canada on the path to reaching our goal of net zero by 2050. This follows over $100 billion committed by our government to climate and green economy investments and more than one hundred different measures.
This first Emissions Reduction Plan charts a credible path to emissions that are 40 percent lower than 2005 levels by 2030. This is an evergreen plan, and we will continue raising our ambition in the years to come.
Climate change is a crisis that persists and will only grow if we do not do more, faster. Flooding, landslides, drought, and wildfire—the mounting costs of extreme weather underscore the need to chart towards a future where Canadians have both a clean environment and a strong economy.
Developed economies and businesses around the world are already going this way, because they know the alternative—doing nothing—entails a level of climate volatility that would harm our way of life and the stability of everyday business.
Global investments in climate solutions such as renewable energy, hydrogen, electrified transport, and carbon capture and storage are already in the trillions of dollars.
The Honourable Steven Guilbeault,
Minister of Environment and Climate Change
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