Climate change: Appearance before the Standing Committee – March 19, 2024

Carbon pollution pricing

Q1. What is carbon pricing and why is it important?

Q2. What is the federal benchmark and what does it do? Why not let provinces and territories decide for themselves how to price carbon pollution?

Q3. How does carbon pricing impact competitiveness, and what is the impact on Canadian industries?

Q4. Has the federal government considered implementing border carbon adjustments to help mitigate carbon leakage?

Q5. Why not expand the exemption on heating oil to support affordability?

Q6. What is the Government of Canada doing with the revenues it collects through carbon pollution pricing?

Q7. What is the Government of Canada’s plan to return fuel charge revenues?

Q8. What is the OBPS Proceeds Fund, and how much funding is available?

OBPS Proceeds Fund: Decarbonization Incentive Program
Province 2019 (in millions) 2020 (in millions) 2021 (in millions) 2022 (in millions)
Manitoba $5.1 $7.0 $8.3 $10.3
New Brunswick $2.7 $3.0 - -
Ontario $68.0 $97.7 $89.8 -
Saskatchewan $6.9 $6.4 $10.5 $20.2

*New Brunswick exited the federal OBPS system in January 2021*

OBPS Proceeds Fund: Future Electricity Fund
Province 2019 (in millions) 2020 (in millions) 2021 (in millions) 2022 (in millions)
Manitoba $0.3 $0.2 $0.5 $0.4
New Brunswick $5.9 $14.1 - -
Ontario $17.0 $19.9 $18.5 -
Saskatchewan $56.3 $84.9 $163.2 $191.6

Q9. How will the Government of Canada return proceeds to provinces or territories that have transitioned out of the federal OBPS and implemented their own carbon pollution pricing system for industrial emitters?

Q10. How will the Government of Canada return proceeds to Indigenous governments?

Q11. Why is the government refusing to pause the carbon price increase scheduled for April 1, 2024, as requested by Atlantic Premiers on March 12?

Cap and cut emissions from oil and gas

Q1. What is the approach to cap and cut oil and gas sector emissions?

Q2. How would an emissions cap affect oil and gas production, exports, and energy security?

Q3. Is the oil and gas sector target achievable? If it costs too much won’t it just scare investment away from Canada?

Q4. What are the most promising decarbonisation pathways for the oil and gas sector?

Clean Electricity Regulations

Q1. Why do we need the Clean Electricity Regulations (CER)?

Q2. What is the status of the CER and next steps?

Q3. What does the recent update to the Clean Electricity Regulations mean for electricity rates for Canadians?

Q4. Is the revised approach expected to lead to similar GHG emissions reductions compared to the draft regulations published in the Canada Gazette (August 2023)? What other benefits can Canadians expect from these regulations?

Q5. Will the CER allow the continued use of fossil fuels like natural gas? Why?

Q6.Why do we need net-zero electricity by 2035, why not by 2050?

Q7. What is the Government of Canada doing to support the transition to net-zero electricity?

In addition to the Clean Electricity Regulations:

Supplementary:

Q8. How is Canada recognizing the large regional differences in electricity systems?

Q9. Are there any changes as to when the Clean Electricity Regulations will come into force?

Clean Fuel Regulations

Q1. When did the Clean Fuel Regulations come into force?

Q2. What do the Clean Fuel Regulations cover?

Q3. Do the Clean Fuel Regulations duplicate what would be achieved by carbon pollution pricing or the oil and gas cap?

Q4. What does success look like for the Clean Fuel Regulations?

Q5. What is the status of the credit market? Are there enough credits available for compliance?

Q6. When will ECCC publish CFR market data to provide more information for regulated parties and investors?

Q7. What is ECCC’s view on the price adjustment that some Atlantic Provinces have included in their retail regulated fuel prices in response to their analysis of the compliance costs associated with the Clean Fuels Regulations?

Clean technology

Q1. Why is clean technology important for reducing emissions and the transition to net-zero?

Q2. What are some of the critical clean technologies in achieving Canada’s 2030 targets and net-zero by 2050?

Q3. What challenges do clean technologies face?

Q4. How is the federal government supporting clean technology in Canada?

Q5. What is the size of Canada’s clean tech sector?

Q6. Why does clean tech/climate innovation matter to Canadians?

UN conference on climate change: COP28

Q1. What were Canada’s goals for COP28 and were they achieved?

Follow-up:

Q2. How big is the delegation? How much has the Government spent on COP28? How can you justify the cost of Canada’s participation?

Q3. How is the government offsetting the carbon footprint resulting from the Canadian delegation’s travel to and from the conference?

International climate finance

Q1. What are the main objectives of Canada’s climate finance?

Q2. What results has Canada achieved from its international climate finance?

Q3. Is Canada contributing its fair share of climate finance?

Q4. Are we on track to meet the collective $100 billion goal?

Q5. What is Canada doing to support Small Island Developing States (SIDS)?

Q6. How is Canada addressing the issue of loss and damage?

Q7. How much of the $5.3B climate finance envelope is ECCC implementing?

Low Carbon Economy Fund

Q1. What is the Low Carbon Economy Fund (LCEF)?

Q2. How much funding will be available under the recapitalized LCEF?

Q3. How will Indigenous communities and organizations benefit from the new Indigenous Leadership Fund?

National Inventory Report

Q1. What are the key highlights from the 2023 National Inventory Report?

Q2. Are GHG emissions data available by industrial facility in Canada?

Q3. ls Canada improving methane emissions estimates in future editions of the NIR?

Q4. How is Canada consulting with Provinces and Territories on emissions?

Q5. How are wildfires reported in the National Inventory Report?

Why are all fires considered natural?

Why are they reported separately?

In summary:

Q6. What is being done to ensure accurate forest GHG reporting following the CESD audit on Forests and Climate Change?

Net Zero Accelerator Initiative

Q1. What is the Net Zero Accelerator Initiative?

Q2. What role does Environment and Climate Change Canada have in the initiative?

Q3. Can you give an example of the types of investments that are being made?

Methane emissions reductions

Q1. Why is methane important? Why is it necessary to have a strategy focused specifically on methane rather than all greenhouse gases?

Q2. What is the government doing or planning to do about methane emissions?

Q3. What is the status of the government’s commitment to develop an economy-wide methane plan as per the Environment Minister’s mandate letter?

Q4. Is the Global Methane Pledge target of reducing methane economy-wide by 30% by 2030 achievable? How are you going to achieve that target?

Q5. Are the Government’s methane plans going to impact farmers?

Thermal coal export ban

Q1. Why is the government ending exports of thermal coal?

Q2. What is the government doing to end exports of thermal coal?

Zero-emission vehicles

Q1. What is the role of zero-emission vehicles in GHG emissions reduction?

Q2. Is Canada’s ZEV target too ambitious?

Q3. How does Canada compare to other countries in terms of ambition?

Q4. How is Canada going to support the existing on-road medium and heavy-duty vehicle fleet?

Q5. How are GHGs from passenger automobiles and light trucks currently regulated?

Q6. What ZEV-related investments were included in Budget 2022 and the 2022 Fall Economic Update?

Q7. How are electric vehicle (EV) batteries being managed at end of life?

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