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Federal, Provincial and Territorial Climate Change Plans

Meeting the Government of Canada’s 2020 emissions reduction target of 17% below 2005 levels will – by necessity – require the combined contribution from all initiatives and from all levels of government. Understanding what can be expected from provincial and territorial plans and policies will be a useful contribution to knowing what needs to be done to achieve this target.  The NRT has been asked by the Minister of the Environment to conduct an analysis of provincial/territorial climate change plans and policies to assess their likely contribution to achieving Canada’s target and help inform federal policy approaches.

Program Update

The National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRT) has been asked by the federal Minister of the Environment to undertake a comprehensive assessment of provincial/territorial climate change plans and policies in order to better inform federal actions aimed at meeting Canada’s 2020 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target. The NRT has been asked to provide a report directly to him by March 31, 2012.

The report will contain background information on Canada’s emissions as a nation to date. It will qualitatively analyze provincial/territorial climate change plans to elucidate their individual targets, climate policy instruments and unique components. Original modelling and analysis of both provincial/territorial and federal climate policies will be presented to indicate an estimate of the emissions reductions expected from current and future provincial and territorial climate change initiatives by 2020. The report will also indicate how current and proposed federal and provincial/territorial climate change policies can make an impact in greenhouse gas emission reductions beyond 2020. Finally, the report will offer advice on what instruments and mechanisms should be explored further in Canada so as to inform the Government of what will work best for the nation as we move forward.

The NRT’s report will be delivered to the Minister of the Environment at the end of March, 2012 and released publicly later in the spring.