Canada Releases 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan
Under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, approved last summer, the Government of Canada is now bound by law to set Canada on a course to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The Act established a legally binding process requiring the government to set five-year national emissions-reductions targets for 2030, 2035, 2040, and 2045, and required the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada to “develop a national emissions reduction plan for each five-year target.”
On March 29th, Environment and Climate Change Minister Stephen Guilbeault issued the first emissions reductions plan under these requirements. Titled 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Canada’s Next Steps for Clean Air and a Strong Economy, the plan is a 271-page roadmap that explains how Canada will achieve its slated emissions reduction target of 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.
The plan includes $9.1 billion in new federal spending and focuses on economy-wide measures, particularly on the oil and gas, electricity, and transportation sectors and on the deployment of technologies and programs to stimulate decarbonization and the transition to a clean growth economy.
Following are a few of the key action items and funding commitments highlighted under the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan:
- To reduce energy costs and reduce carbon emissions in residential and commercial buildings, the federal government will develop a $150 million Canada Green Buildings Strategy. Working with provinces, territories, and other partners, the strategy will build off existing initiatives and set out new policy, programs, incentives, and standards needed to drive a massive retrofit of the existing building stock, and construction to the highest zero-carbon standards.
- The (long promised) Canada Greener Homes Loan program will receive an additional investment of $458.5 million.
- Renewing the $2.2 billion Low Carbon Economy Fund to support greenhouse gas reduction projects in communities across Canada.
- Increasing the price on carbon pollution from its current level of $50 per tonne to $170 by 2030 to incentivize clean energy solutions.
- Establishing a Pan-Canadian Grid Council to promote electrification and renewable sources of electricity and invest an additional $600 million in the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program and $250 million in support of large clean electricity projects.
- Developing a carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) strategy and invest $194 million to expand the Industrial Energy Management System.
- $780 million in additional funding for the Nature Smart Climate Solutions Fund to support emissions reductions initiatives.
HRAI is in active contact with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change to discuss programs and measures that work most effectively for industry and will provide members with further details on these initiatives as they unfold.
For more information, contact Martin Luymes at 1-800-267-2231 ext. 235, or email mluymes@hrai.ca.
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