Ottawa, November 6, 2025—An audit report released today by Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Jerry V. DeMarco, on behalf of the Auditor General of Canada, concluded that selected federal financial measures to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions had shortcomings in their implementation.
The audit examined 9 financial measures delivered by 6 federal organizations that are projected to result in federal investments exceeding $100 billion. The audit found that none of those measures were implemented effectively to reduce emissions.
The audit identified a number of problems with the measures, including a low initial uptake of tax credits to support investments in clean technologies. Federal investments supporting projects in the oil and gas sector also faced significant risks in a transition to net‑zero emissions by 2050. There was also a lack of transparency of expected emission outcomes and insufficient systems for measuring results. Lastly, limited progress had been made in developing sustainable investment guidelines for activities to help Canada’s economy transition to net‑zero emissions.
Overall, the range of measures currently in place and the pace of emission reductions were not enough to support meeting the government’s target to reduce emissions by 40% to 45% below the 2005 level by 2030. Since the Office of the Auditor General of Canada’s 2024 report under the Canadian Net‑Zero Emissions Accountability Act, the gap between the expected reductions and the 2030 target had widened, but the government had not implemented additional or strengthened measures to close the gap. According to the federal government’s data for 2023, the most recent year available, emissions in Canada only decreased by 8.5% since 2005.
“The federal government will need to strengthen or add measures to meet its 2030 target of at least a 40% drop in greenhouse gas emissions and do its part in the global effort to fight climate change,” said Mr. DeMarco.
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The 2025 Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Implementing the Canadian Net‑Zero Emissions Accountability Act—Financial Measures, is available on the Office of the Auditor General of Canada website.
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