Appearance before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts – February 15, 2024

Meeting scenario

Sequence of events

Appearance before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts
2023 Report 1 of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development – Forests and Climate Change

Hybrid Meeting
(Zoom Video Conference and in Person)

Date: 2023 Report 1 of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development – Forests and Climate Change 4
Time: 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (EDT)

Event description

Deputy Ministers from ECCC and NRCan have been invited to appear before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Thursday, February 15, 2024, along with the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development to discuss the 2023 Report 1 of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development – Forests and Climate Change.

Officials will appear as part of a panel and will each deliver 5-minute opening statements usually beginning with the Commissioner.

The panel will consist of the following officials:

Environment and Climate Change Canada

• Jean-François Tremblay, Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Jacqueline Goncalves, Director General Science Reporting and Assessment
• Lindsay Pratt, Director Pollutant Inventories and Reporting Division
• Derek Hermanutz, Director General Economic Analysis

Department of Natural Resources (officials TBC)

• Michael Vandergrift, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Canada (virtual)
• Jeff Labonté, Associate Deputy Minister of Natural Resources Canada
• Glenn Hargrove, Assistant Deputy Minister, Canadian Forest Service

Office of the Auditor General of Canada (officials TBC)

• Jerry V. DeMarco, Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development
• Other officials TBC

Hybrid Meeting  –The meeting will be conducted through Zoom and in person.  Although officials have the right to appear either in person or virtually, the committee has strongly requested that officials appear in person.

Official Invitation –Senior Parliamentary Affairs Officer, Adam Borden, will send out an official invitation to all officials ensuring that all pertinent information is contained within their respective schedules.

Event timeline

Logistics contact: Adam Borden
Senior Parliamentary Affairs Officer
Parliamentary Affairs Unit
Mobile: 613-716-7971
Email: adam.borden@ec.gc.ca

Background on audit

2023 Report 1 of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development – Forests and Climate Change

Background on the Audit and ECCC’s participation

Context

• In April 2023, the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development released Report 1—Forests and Climate Change.
• The audit objective was to determine whether Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), working with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), adequately designed and implemented the 2 Billion Trees Program and estimated and reported on historical and future forest-sector carbon emissions and removals credibly and transparently.
• The audit focused on the first year of implementation (2021–22) of the 2 Billion Trees Program and the program’s overall design. It also focused on the estimating, accounting, and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from the forest sector.
• This audit considered relevant United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and targets, including targets in the Canadian Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition, it considered the availability of reliable, disaggregated data for measuring progress toward these goals and targets.

Report conclusions and key considerations

• The report’s conclusion was that NRCan, working with ECCC did not adequately design and implement the 2 Billion Trees Program and did not provide a full and transparent picture of how Canada’s forests remove carbon from the atmosphere or contribute carbon to it. The CESD added that given the early trends and issues establishing partnerships, it is unlikely that the program will meet its objectives unless significant changes are made.
• The report noted that NRCan developed a system to estimate greenhouse gas emissions and removals in Canada’s forests, and the departments’ reporting answered to international obligations. However, there were several opportunities to make the estimates and the resulting reporting more consistent, easier to understand, and more accessible and useful to decision makers and the public.
• There were 7 recommendations in the report. ECCC agreed with the 3 recommendations directed at the Department and is working to address them (please refer to management action plan).
• NRCan agreed with CESD on the 2 Billion Trees Program recommendations. While long-term contribution agreements with provinces and territories are not yet in place, back in March 2023 the government had signed Agreements-in-Principle with 5 of them.
• NRCan and ECCC agreed with CESD on the carbon recommendations. In the short-term, the departments will rely on existing consultation mechanisms to determine improvements needed to forest GHG reporting. GHG reports are reviewed by international expert teams under the UNFCCC and estimation methodologies are subjected to peer review; the government has engaged with experts and stakeholders through multiple forums in recent years.

Environment and Climate Change Canada Management Action Plan

For the recommendations of report 1: Forests and Climate Change

Spring 2023 Report of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Date: April 2023

Paragraph number in report 64

CESD recommendation

Given the importance of forests to greenhouse gas emissions and removals and in consideration of Canada’s unique national circumstances, Natural Resources Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada should commission and publish an independent expert review and take action to address any gaps or opportunity for improvements. This review should:

• consider Canada’s approach to estimating and reporting emissions related to forests, and specifically to logging.
• include a formal engagement process with users, such as researchers, environmental and industry groups, on how to better meet their needs and support accountability and decision making.

Departmental response

Agreed.

The departments agree with the importance of independent review. Each annual National Inventory Report and Biennial Report is reviewed by an international expert review team. The reviews are published online. The science underlying carbon reporting is peer-reviewed and so are future improvements to carbon models prior to implementation in the inventory system.

The departments also agree with the importance of engagement. The government has engaged with experts and stakeholders through multiple forums to identify knowledge and information gaps and prioritise input to the scientific process that underlies carbon reporting: A Blueprint for Forest Carbon Science in Canada, Climate Science 2050, The 2019 Carbon Workshop (PDF) or the recent Canadian Council of Academies report on Nature-Based Climate Solutions. Further, the departments have engaged in dialogues with environmental groups who have published reports critical (PDF) of forest carbon reporting and accounting.

In the short term, the departments will rely on existing consultations. Known knowledge gaps established through these recent expert consultations and issues raised by environmental groups will be clearly addressed and published in future versions of the interdepartmental Improvement Plan for Forest and Harvested Wood Products Greenhouse Gas Estimates.

In the short term, the departments will rely on existing consultations. Known knowledge gaps established through these recent expert consultations and issues raised by environmental groups will be clearly addressed and published in future versions of the interdepartmental Improvement Plan for Forest and Harvested Wood Products Greenhouse Gas Estimates.

Description of final expected outcome/result

• National Inventory Report (NIR) will have undergone an in-depth technical review by independent experts assembled by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat.
• A revised Improvement Plan for Forest and Harvested Wood Products Greenhouse Gas Estimates that directly addresses and communicates the relationship between knowledge and communication gaps identified by stakeholders and consultation reports and improvement projects.
• Quality assurance analysis to review historically harvested areas and assure that the logging footprint is accurately captured in the anthropogenic reporting category (based on the historical area that has been logged in the past 100 years).

Expected final completion date

December 2024

Action plan and key milestones (description/dates)

2023:

• Completion, in collaboration with P/Ts, of a review of historically harvested areas- September – ECCC – Science and Technology Branch (STB) / Science and Risk Assessment Directorate (SRAD) lead
• Improvements to transparency and project prioritisation in Improvement Plan document based on existing critiques and knowledge gaps- October – ECCC-STB/SRAD lead
• Publication of first revision of Improvement Plan for Forest and Harvested Wood Products Greenhouse Gas Estimates – December – ECCC-STB/SRAD lead

2024:

• Publication of the Technical review of Canada’s National Inventory Report by UNFCCC expert review team – April 2024 – ECCC-STB/SRAD lead
• Integrate new projects in improvement planning document based on results of UNFCCC review – September – ECCC-STB/SRAD lead
• Second publication date of revised Improvement Plan for Forest and Harvested Wood Products Greenhouse Gas Estimates (PDF) based on UNFCCC review- December – ECCC-STB/SRAD lead

Responsible organization/contact person (division/directorate, branch)

Lead for National Inventory Reporting and Improvement Planning: Science and Risk Assessment Directorate (SRAD), Science and Technology Branch (STB)

Paragraph number in report: 65

CESD recommendation

To inform policy decisions that support emission reductions and improve transparency Environment and Climate Change Canada, working with Natural Resources Canada should, in its reports on historical and projected emissions:

• state the greenhouse gas effects of changes in forest management.
• work with provinces and territories to report data by province and territory, so that the effects of forest management practices are more evident.
• present information in ways that the public can readily access and easily understand.

And, in its projection reports:

• more clearly state which policies and measures are included and their greenhouse gas effects.
• more clearly describe the methods, information, and assumptions it uses to estimate and account for emissions and removals.

Departmental response

Agreed.

ECCC with NRCan agree that reporting greenhouse gas emissions and removals must be consistent and transparent, ensuring information is clearly communicated and readily accessible by the public.

Canada’s National Inventory Report is a scientific document that conforms to international standards, reporting historical emissions by emission source category. This ensures precision of communication and transparency among the international greenhouse gas reporting community. The departments will maintain the precise language of the document, but will explore opportunities to improve consistency, clarity and accessibility among different greenhouse gas reports. The departments will also continue to work with provinces and territories to report data.

In Canada’s Eighth National Communication and Fifth Biennial Report submitted to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on December 31, 2022, all policies and measures included in the modelling were listed and estimates of projected emissions reductions associated with these measures were provided. In future reporting, ECCC will continue to work with Natural Resources Canada and other responsible or relevant departments to communicate more clearly how past and future changes in land management practices affect projected greenhouse gas emissions and removals, to the degree that this is possible.

More detailed data on land use, land-use change, and forestry emissions and accounting projections were published on ECCC’s open data portal in 2022 and will continue to be published annually.

Description of final expected outcome/result

• P/T-level data published in the NIR.
• Reports on land sector emissions (NIR, State of Canada’s Forests, Land Sector Emission and Removals indicator, Emissions Projections Report, Biennial Report) revised as appropriate to include additional analysis related to forest management.
• Information published on open data.
• Policies and measures and their effects continue to be published in future Biennial Reports.
• Greater detail on assumptions and methodology used for emissions reduction estimates of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) published in projection reports.
• NRCan will be supported by ECCC in conversations with PTs about publishing PT-level data (e.g. through the National Forest Sinks Committee).
• Possible data visualization options for land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) projections and accounting for stakeholders are explored.

Expected final completion date

June 2025

Action plan and key milestones (description/dates)

2024-2025:

• ECCC-STB-SRAD, working with NRCan- Canadian Forest Service (CFS) and ECCC- Strategic Policy Branch, Sustainability Directorate (SPB-SD), will review the text of reports on land sector emissions (NIR, State of Canada’s Forests, Land Sector Emission and Removals indicator, Emissions Projections Report, Biennial Report) to assure consistency and accessibility of language and emphasizing the impacts of forest management on emissions and removals. Additional data will be included in the NIR related to forest management and will be published in open data including provincial estimates. End of 2024
• Revised text and PT level data in NIR 2024 – due April 2024 to the UNFCCC. – ECCC-STB/SRAD lead
• December 31, 2024 - State of Canada’s Forests improved consistency and accessibility of text with other communication products – ECCC-STB/SRAD lead working with NRCan-CFS
• Revised text on land sector emissions in Canada’s First Biennial Transparency Report (BTR1) – due December 31, 2024 to the UNFCCC
• ECCC will continue to publish impacts of policies and measures in future Biennial Reports (e.g. upcoming Biennial Transparency Report) – Dec. 31, 2024 and ongoing
• ECCC-SPB will consult with partners (ECCC-Canadian Wildlife Service, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and NRCan) for review of proposed methodology explanation in the BTR1 and submit the BTR1 to the UNFCCC – due December 31, 2024 to the UNFCCC
• Publish LULUCF data visualization – by June 2025

Responsible organization/contact person (division/directorate, branch)

Science and Risk Assessment Directorate, Science (SRAD) and Technology Branch (STB)

Lead/Support for policies and measures, data visualization, and improved explanation of Nature-Based Solution methodology:

Economic Analysis Directorate, Strategic Policy Branch (SPB)

Paragraph number in report: 76

CESD recommendation

For its reporting to better support the limiting of greenhouse gas emissions and global temperature rise, Environment and Climate Change Canada should:

• consider and report publicly on which accounting approach best meets criteria related to supporting better-informed policy decisions and actual emission reductions
• provide additional estimates in the historical reports that use the same accounting approach for estimating the effects of forests that it plans to use for meeting its 2030 target
• consistently include forested land in the relevant greenhouse gas indicators for frameworks that report against Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions targets, such as the Canadian Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals and the Federal Sustainable Development Strategy

Departmental response

Agreed.

ECCC and NRCan agree that Canada’s forest carbon accounting approach must be one based on the best available data and science, ensuring a strong foundation to inform policy decisions on climate change mitigation.

ECCC, NRCan and other responsible departments are conducting a review of Canada’s land use, land-use change, and forestry accounting approach, including the reference-level approach used for the managed forests and harvested wood products.

ECCC and NRCan note that presenting reference-level accounting numbers in parallel to historical forest emissions in Canada’s National Inventory Report for estimating the contribution of forests towards meeting Canada’s 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction target may not effectively improve clarity for policymakers. However, the departments agree that the clarity of the contribution of forests to reduction targets could be improved among the international and domestic reporting documents.

ECCC will clearly and consistently report on the 2030 greenhouse gas target. In addition to the National Inventory Report and in alignment with other reports, ECCC provides accessible and transparent information about Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and projections through the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators program. ECCC will consider including contextual information, such as the Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators land-based greenhouse gas emissions and removals indicator, when reporting on progress towards the 2022 to 2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy greenhouse gas target.

Description of final expected outcome/result

• ECCC will have continued to work with NRCan on the review of Canada’s LULUCF accounting approach and publish the results once a final recommendation is approved.
• The relationship between historical reporting and accounting estimates will be clarified across the series of reports produced by ECCC.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada will have considered including contextual information from the department’s “land-based greenhouse gas emissions and removals” indicator when reporting on progress towards the GHG target in the 2022 to 2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy, in order to include forestry. Forestry data is the responsibility of Natural Resources Canada.

Expected final completion date

November 2026

Action plan and key milestones (description/dates)

Review of the Accounting Approach:

• June 2023 - Oct 2023 - Formal engagement with stakeholders
• Feb 2024 – Policy Recommendation: joint policy recommendation to ECCC minister
• April 2024 - Communicate policy decision to stakeholders
• Dec 2024 – application of policy decision to projections in Biennial Transparency Report to UNFCCC
• 2024 – Refined text in NIR (April), Biennial Transparency Report (December 31, 2024)
• The report on progress on the 2022 to 2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy (FSDS), slated for tabling by November 2026, will include reporting on the “land-based greenhouse gas emissions and removals” indicator. This contextual indicator is included under the “Why This Goal is Important” section on page 151 of the 2022 to 2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy and can be easily pulled into the report on progress. (November 2026)
• December 2024 - The Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators (CESI) program releases the annual “land-based greenhouse gas emissions and removals” indicator on an annual basis.

Responsible organization/contact person (division/directorate, branch)

Co-Leads for accounting approach review (ECCC-NRCan combined):

ECCC Co-lead

Economic Analysis Directorate, Strategic Policy Branch

[Note: ECCC to work with NRCan:

Trade, Economics, and Industry Branch, Canadian Forest Service]

Lead/Support for additional estimates:

Science and Risk Assessment Directorate, Science and Technology Branch

Lead/Support for GHG indicator reporting, FSDS and CESI: Sustainability Directorate, Strategic Policy Branch

Questions and answers

Questions and answers on forest carbon in relation to CESD audit findings – science and technology focus

Issue

Questions and answers specific to forest carbon emissions and removals in relation to the CESD audit findings.

Natural Resources Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada did not provide a clear and complete picture of the effects of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions from forests. For example, published reports did not provide sufficient information on how logging or changes in forest management affected Canada’s emissions.

Key messages

• Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), together with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), develops forest carbon estimates using the best available science and data.
• Reporting and monitoring of carbon in natural ecosystems is fundamentally different from reporting of fossil fuel emissions and are not directly comparable. Trees can grow back, oil will not.
• Renewable resources such as wood are managed for sustainability. The principles of sustainable resource management are based in sound science and Canada’s methodologies recognize those scientific principles reflecting IPCC methodological guidance.
• Our methodology is backed by over 100 peer-reviewed papers; our estimates are regularly reviewed by independent experts, and our scientists are among the world’s leading experts on forest carbon.
• We regularly engage with experts and stakeholders, including environmental organizations, to identify knowledge gaps and prioritize input to the scientific process that underlies carbon reporting.
• We are continually improving the science and modelling tools, with improvements being implemented once they are mature and peer-reviewed, based on a publicly available plan.

Questions and answers

1. What has been done since the tabling of the Audit report to improve transparency of reports on historical and projected emissions?

• ECCC and NRCan are working closely and diligently to implement deliverables in response to the Commissioner’s recommendations.
• These deliverables include transparency improvements to the 2024 edition of the NIR such as the planned inclusion of provincial and territorial data on Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF). Deliverables also include an external review of Canada’s NIR by independent experts assembled by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat that was carried out in September, as well as updates to the interdepartmental Improvement Plan for Forest and Harvested Wood Products Greenhouse Gas Estimates planned for release on ECCC’s Open Data Portal in the near-term.
• In addition, to improve transparency of the forest sector emissions projections the Government of Canada released a visualization of LULUCF accounting contribution by land category on its GHG projections webpage. Work to expand this visualization continues and is on track to be completed this year. The visualization will be updated to include the most recent projections with the release of Canada’s First Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) in December 2024.
• Descriptions of individual policies were added in the 2023 Emissions Projections Report, which were not included in the 2021 Emissions Projections Report. ECCC continues to publish impacts of policies and measures in Biennial Reports (e.g. upcoming BTR). ECCC has engaged with partners to include more detailed explanations of methodology used to develop emissions reductions estimates for nature-based climate solutions in the upcoming BTR.
• ECCC and NRCan are conducting a review of LULUCF accounting approach, including the reference level approach used to account for emissions and removals from the managed forests and harvested wood products. Working with ECCC, NRCan has started to engage with provinces and territories, stakeholders, and Indigenous partners on this review. Input received through this engagement process will inform Canada’s discussion on its land sector accounting approach.

2. What information about international emissions reporting is available publicly?

• Every year, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) prepares and submits a national GHG inventory to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). ECCC also prepares and publishes GHG projections up to 2035. These projections help us measure progress in reducing GHG emissions and combating climate change.
• In addition to these annual reports, the government publishes detailed emissions data ECCC’s Open Data Portal each year.
• Other information is available as well. The Canadian Forest Service publishes information documents on forest carbon, emissions and science. ECCC publishes additional material as well, including an improvement plan for forest carbon emissions. The Canadian Forest carbon reporting is based on science, much of which is peer-reviewed and available in open sources. Finally, the UNFCCC organizes international expert review teams to review Canada’s reporting regularly, and those reviews, with their recommendations for improvement, are also available publicly.

3. Why does the Government of Canada not offer emissions data by province?

• While the Government has historically only published estimates for the Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) sector at the national scale, there are plans to publish these estimates for each province and territory in the 2024 edition of the National Inventory Report.

4. The commissioner says one province asked for the disaggregated data to remain confidential. Can you confirm if this is still the case, and which province this is?

• Transparency is an important element to Canada’s reporting of GHGs, and LULUCF data disaggregated by province and territory is currently planned for the 2024 edition of the NIR.

5. Why do you disagree with the report’s suggestion to commission and publish an external expert review on estimating and reporting forest-related emissions?

• To be clear: the Government agrees with the importance of independent review. Our national emissions reports are regularly reviewed by international experts, and these reviews are published online. The science underlying our carbon reporting is also peer-reviewed and available in open sources.
• Further, we engage with experts and stakeholders, including partnerships with universities and organizations, including to identify knowledge and information gaps.

6. The report describes a “continuous and significant changing” of values identifying Canada’s forests as carbon sources or sinks. Why do your estimates change? Are they reliable?

• Yes, Canada’s estimates are reliable. Canada’s National Inventory Report is a scientific document that conforms to international standards.
• Canada monitors and reports on some 226 million hectares of forest. Many factors affect those forests every year, natural- and human-made.
• We seek to continuously improve how we report and the accuracy of the information we have on those 226 million hectares. We make changes because we obtain new data, or because there is new peer-reviewed science that we can use to understand our data.
• Canada’s planned forest GHG improvements are tracked in an Improvement Plan published on ECCC’s Open Data Portal. This plan details the objectives of the planned improvements and when they are expected to be implemented. It also describes the research and development needed to implement the improvements.

7. Why are emissions from the forest sector not counted in the same way as emissions from the oil and gas sector?

• The forest sector and oil and gas sector are treated differently under international rules.
• For forests, we count emissions in Canada from the moment a tree is harvested. In this way, we fully account for that tree, regardless of where any eventual wood products are consumed, either in Canada or abroad.
• For the oil and gas sector, emissions from the use of oil and gas are reported in other sectors – such as industry and transportation – and emissions from products exported are all reported by other countries.

8. Why do you not report on logging emissions?

• A forest is not managed at the time of logging only. Canada reports emissions and removals from activities in Canada’s managed forests in a way that presents a complete picture, including logging and other activities such as regeneration, restoration, fire suppression or conservation.
• To report on only logging emissions would see Canada depart from international practice.
• We would be looking at only one part of the carbon cycle, which would be misleading and result in uninformed decisions about how best to ensure healthy forests in Canada.
• Canada’s sustainable forest practices are recognized through certification, with approximately three-quarters of Canada’s managed Crown forest land certified by recognized standard certification schemes.

9. Why do you not treat historical and projected estimates in the same way?

• Canada’s forest GHG projections are fully consistent with historical emission estimates. Projections are based on the same methodologies used to produce Canada’s forest GHG estimates for the national GHG inventory.
• Canada’s National Forest Carbon Monitoring, Accounting and Reporting System (NFCMARS) builds on information in Canada’s National Forest Inventory and on additional provincial and territorial forest inventory information. NFCMARS provides annual estimates of GHG emissions and removals that are published in Canada’s national GHG inventory. NFCMARS is also used to produce the GHG projections, using assumptions about human activities in the future.

Wildfire specific questions

10. Aren’t fires started by humans really anthropogenic disturbances?

• Humans start fires and humans put out fires. As a general rule, human-caused fires result in a negligible area burned compared to non-anthropogenic fires because they occur in more populated areas and are usually extinguished quickly (Canadian Large Fire Data Base, Stocks et al. 2002, 2003)
• Further, whether fires ignite and result in significant area burned is dependent on weather conditions and not necessarily the ignition source. Canada does recognize the importance of quantifying fires used for management and resulting directly from forest management actions but currently there are no accurate authoritative data on fire origin on a national scale.
• As of data available in 2020, large fires (>200 ha) that occur in isolated locations with limited access account for approximately 97% of the total area burned across the country and most of these fires are caused by lightning.
• Because direct human actions can be negative and positive—both as agents of ignition (accidentally or intentionally in the case of management activities) and by actively suppressing fires and controlling fuel—their effects on the area burned are difficult to quantify and separate from other drivers.
• The current default assumption that human activity has neither a positive nor a negative impact on the natural fire regime across the country avoids introducing a bias that is not supported by long-term data and scientific understanding.
• Although the methodology that is used separately tracks land areas that are dominated by either natural or anthropogenic influences, the evolving balance between those areas over time will capture long-term trends in the natural fire regime in managed forest areas.

11. Are emissions from wildfires included in the NIR?

• Yes, GHG emissions from natural disturbances are reported in section 6.3 of the NIR. The GHG impacts of natural disturbances such as wildfire and severe forest insect outbreaks are measured in Canada’s GHG inventory because understanding total emissions and removals from our managed forest is very important.
• To provide a clear picture of the impacts of human activity over time, the focus of Canada’s GHG inventory report is the emissions and removals that are a direct result of forest management practices. Having a clear understanding of direct human impacts can inform how we develop approaches to reduce carbon emissions and increase the carbon sequestered by our forests. For this reason, emissions and removals associated with natural disturbances are tracked and reported separately.

12. Why do you report wildfire emissions separately in the NIR?

• The purpose of the annual reporting of GHG emission and removal estimates to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is to quantify the impacts of human activities on the atmosphere. In Canada, year-to-year variations and trends in emissions and removals from managed forests are dominated by the impact of wildfires and periodic forest insect outbreaks, making it difficult to detect trends resulting from human actions in the forest. Since the 2017 NIR submission, Canada has implemented an approach that isolates the effects of anthropogenic activities on managed forests by separating the monitoring and compilation of emissions and removals from forest stands impacted by anthropogenic and natural drivers.
• Forest fires are tracked under the natural disturbance component of the NIR because human-caused ignitions are responsible for a small proportion of the area burned in Canada (~10%; Hanes et al., 2019) and the role of humans is uncertain in explaining increases or decreases in areas burned. Forest fires have been an integral part of the Canadian landscape for millennia.
• If such an approach was not used, it would be impossible to assess how forest management activities affect GHG estimates. This is because natural disturbances would dominate emissions and removals estimates. For example, natural disturbance emissions can vary by over 200 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (Mt CO2e) from year to year, depending on the area burned by wildfire.

Questions and answers related to ECCC’s Canadian Wildlife Service collaboration in the 2 Billion Trees program

Issue

Questions and answers specific to the 2 Billion Trees program and the CESD audit recommendations that have implications for ECCC-CWS.

Key messages 

• Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) is working closely with Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) on the implementation of the 2 Billion Trees program and the delivery of co-benefits including biodiversity conservation.
• ECCC will continue to support NRCan by providing advice and expertise and to ensure biodiversity conservation is maximized and monitored and reported properly through the program.

CESD 2023 report recommendations concerning ECCC-CWS

• The recommended actions regarding biodiversity co-benefits are outlined in Natural Resources Canada’s Management Action Plan for the audit of Forests and Climate Change (refer to the annex for details).
• The Commissioner emphasized the significance of tree planting in enhancing biodiversity, citing its role in restoring critical habitat for numerous species, including those categorized as species at risk.
• ECCC supplied Natural Resources Canada with comprehensive information (spatial data, maps, lists of species at risk and their habitats, documents) to guide and support provincial and territorial governments in exploring potential sites for tree planting that would maximize benefits for biodiversity through the restoration of critical habitat for species at risk, species of conservation interest, or culturally significant species. While this information was shared with provinces and territories, it was not accessible to other organizational entities at that time.
• To enhance program effectiveness, the Commissioner recommended that NRCan extend guidance and support regarding biodiversity and habitat needs to all partners, irrespective of their funding sources, and collaborate with ECCC to improve reporting mechanisms for biodiversity benefits.

Questions and answers 

1. What is the status or progress made on providing guidance and/or support about biodiversity and habitat needs for all partners?

• The guidance and support offered by ECCC and NRCan to provincial and territorial governments required refinement and customization before dissemination to all partners.
• ECCC officials are collaborating closely with NRCan to review and adapt guidance materials suitable for various partner organizations. The goal is to complete this process and share the finalized guidance with partners by April 2024.

2. What has ECCC done to support developing biodiversity indicator? 

• ECCC, in collaboration with NRCan, is actively exploring various options for a biodiversity indicator that can effectively reflect and monitor the program’s progress toward biodiversity objectives.

• ECCC is taking the lead in developing Canada’s 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan, following the adoption of the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity in 2022. As part of this process, domestic implementation plans and their monitoring frameworks are currently undergoing public review and development.
• Furthermore, ECCC is engaging with federal experts to evaluate existing indicators, ensuring alignment with the strategy and maximizing synergies as efforts progress.

Annex: Excerpt from NRCAN’s Management Action Plan 

Recommendation

1.47 To enhance biodiversity and habitat-related benefits of the 2 Billion Trees Program over the long term and to contribute to Canada’s biodiversity goals, Natural Resources Canada should:

1. develop criteria for monoculture planting projects to ensure that these projects do not hinder biodiversity goals
2. make specific guidance and support about biodiversity and habitat needs available to all partners
3. provide incentives to habitat restoration work for all project streams
4. leverage information provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada to enhance reporting on biodiversity benefits

Response

NRCan Partially agreed.

1. Natural Resources Canada will develop criteria for monoculture planting projects and communicate to stakeholders by December 2023.
2. Natural Resources Canada will work with Environment and Climate Change Canada to make specific guidance and support about biodiversity and habitat needs available to all program stakeholders by April 2024.
3. Natural Resources Canada will also continue to make eligible costs for professional services (ecologists, biologists, and so on) and encourage applicants to consult professionals for habitat restoration projects. Natural Resources Canada disagrees with providing additional incentives, either in the form of new funding or preference for awards of projects. Given that habitat restoration is significantly more expensive, additional incentives for habitat restoration work would reduce funding available to meet the core objectives of the program regarding number of trees planted and climate mitigation objectives.
4. Natural Resources Canada will work with Environment and Climate Change Canada to enhance reporting on biodiversity benefits by May 2024.

Natural climate solutions in Canada – Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund

Background

• The Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund (NSCSF) aims to deliver 5 to 7 megatonnes in greenhouse gas emission reductions annually by 2030, while also delivering biodiversity and human well-being co-benefits such as halting and reversing nature loss and the creation of green jobs.
• Focusses on three main objectives to sequester carbon: conserve carbon-rich ecosystems, improve land management practices and restore degraded ecosystems.
• NSCSF is also investing in policy projects that reduce emissions by addressing the drivers of ecosystem conversion at a regional level (e.g. the creation or strengthening of local or provincial wetland protection policies).
• Projects funded to date have focused on conservation through private-land securement with a number of bigger projects on Crown land.
• Seventy-seven projects have been funded so far under the Emission Reduction Stream (approximately $325 million). These projects are expected to protect more than 1 million ha of forests, wetlands and grasslands and restore more than 20,000 ha of degraded ecosystems.

Examples 

• $10 million over 5 years to the Province of Nova Scotia to secure 26,000 hectares of high-carbon, old forest ecosystems on private lands in southwest Nova Scotia.
• $15 million over 3 years to the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation in British Columbia to secure 62,000 hectares of high carbon old growth forest in core salmon watershed and support the designation of the Salmon Park Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area.
• $750,000 over three years to the Province of British Columbia to develop and pilot test property tax shifting and other fiscal measures for private land conservation. Activities will take place on private and public lands with high carbon sinks at risk of degradation or clearing.
• $13 million over 4 years to the Nature Conservancy of Canada to conserve over 5,000 hectares and restore up to 200 hectares of carbon- and biodiversity-rich forests, grasslands and wetlands in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Ontario, and Quebec. The project takes place in four Priority Places and will target important habitat for species at risk and migratory birds on private land.

Questions and answers

1. Are we on track to deliver 5-7 megatonnes in greenhouse gas emissions reductions annually by 2030?

• Validating results will take time.
• Ongoing efforts to refine our tools to estimate greenhouse gas emissions and how to track reductions.
• Early projects focus on private land securement and these projects are not yet complete. Once these projects are complete, we will begin the work to validate the results.

2. How does protecting an ecosystem reduce greenhouse gas emissions?

• If we conserve an ecosystem that was about to be converted to another land use – we prevent the carbon stored in that ecosystem from being released into the atmosphere.
• If we can prevent that activity from simply happening somewhere else, we will reduce overall emissions.

• NSCSF focuses both on conserving carbon rich ecosystems and reducing rates of ecosystem loss.
• This can be achieved by addressing the drivers of ecosystem loss through policy or changes in incentives.

3. How can natural climate solutions advance reconciliation with Indigenous People?

• There is significant interest in NSCSF from Indigenous communities. Support from NSCSF can help Indigenous communities build their capacity in natural climate solutions and contribute solutions that are rooted in the knowledge and respect of their territories.

2023 Report 1 – Forests and Climate Change

Report 1 – Reports of the Commissioner of the Environmental and Sustainable Development

Transcript of the June 15, 2023 Appearance Before the Standing Committee on Natural Resources

Evidence – RNNR (44-1) – No. 69 – House of Commons