Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change second annual report: section 7

Measurement and reporting on emissions

Under the PCF, federal, provincial and territorial governments committed to collaborate through the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) to track and report GHG emissions in a consistent way across the country, to monitor progress of the PCF, and to support international reporting obligations.

In 2018, CCME undertook collaborative work with federal, provincial and territorial representatives to improve both GHG emissions projections and how information about these projections is communicated. To support these objectives, internal guidance documents for use by FPT governments on modelling technological change and communicating projections uncertainty were completed. Good progress was also made on other collaborative projects through CCME, including emissions inventories, GHG offsets, international mitigation measures, government leadership, and infrastructure resilience.

Reporting on implementation

Reporting on implementation remains a collaborative process shared by federal, provincial and territorial governments. Tracking progress on implementation remains a priority, especially going forward as PCF actions are implemented and emissions reduction outcomes can be measured. In 2018, the Expert Panel on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Results concluded its work to advise the government with the release of its report “Measuring Progress on Adaptation and Climate Resilience: Recommendations to the Government of Canada.” As well, the FPT Working Group on Clean Technology Data supported the development of the Clean Technology Data Strategy, which has led to Statistics Canada releasing national clean technology data, with the second release due in December 2018.

Federal, provincial and territorial governments worked collaboratively through the CCME to identify indicators, based on existing climate change reporting across governments that can be used to monitor the implementation of complementary actions to reduce GHG emissions. Indicators were chosen based on FPT data availability and salience of the indicator. However, at the time the 2018 Synthesis Report was drafted, data required for the indicators was only available up to 2016, prior to the release of the PCF. Therefore this report introduces the indicators that will be used in future years to measure the efficacy of PCF action items but does not present any data. The indicators are as follows:

Analysis and advice

In order to ensure actions taken by governments are effective and decisions are informed by science and evidence, the Government of Canada will identify an organization to provide informed advice to governments and Canadians and identify best practices to support ambitious climate action. The advice will help inform our continuing work with provinces, territories, Indigenous Peoples, and other partners. It will also help Canada reach its goals under the Paris Agreement and increase its ambition in line with commitments under the Agreement. Budget 2018 committed $20 million over five years to support this goal.

Review

The PCF includes a commitment for a review of the overall approach to pricing carbon pollution by early 2022 to confirm the path forward. An interim report will also be completed in 2020, which will be reviewed and assessed by First Ministers. As an early deliverable for this review, in 2018 progress was made in the review of best practices to address risks to competitiveness and carbon leakage from carbon pollution pricing in emissions-intensive, trade-exposed sectors.