Although he promised to support the liberal government for the next three years, NDP leader Jagmit Singh said on Wednesday that he would not hesitate to criticize his parliamentary partner for his alleged shortcomings in the climate dossier.
Speaking to reporters after the federal commissioner for the environment published five reports critical of the government’s climate policy, Singh said he was deeply concerned about the liberals’ approach to the environment, adding that there seemed to be a gap between rhetoric and reality.
“The liberal government is a failure in terms of the environment,” Singh said.
“The Commissioner for the Environment was sarcastic and we believe him. This is no surprise. For the Liberals, every goal set has not been met. They do not take it seriously.”
Since the Liberal government was first elected in 2015, greenhouse gas emissions have risen. In 2020, during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant drop in emissions – a decline that is not expected to continue.
Although there have been increases in emissions observed by liberals, the government has said the country’s “emission intensity” is lower because the economy is growing faster than emissions.
He also argued that emissions would have been much higher if carbon pricing and other measures in the Liberal-mediated Pan-Canadian framework for clean growth and climate had not been introduced.
Although the government supports climate action, Environment and Sustainable Development Commissioner Jerry DeMarco said on Tuesday that there were real doubts about whether the government would actually meet its commitment to reduce emissions in Canada by 40 to 45 percent below 2005 levels. by 2030, according to this plan, Canada ‘s emissions will have to fall from 730 megatons to between 445 and 408 megatons.
Commissioner for the Environment and Sustainable Development Jerry DeMarco attends a press conference in Ottawa on 25 November 2021 (Adrian Wyld / Canadian Press)
DeMarco said Ottawa relied too heavily on “overly optimistic” assumptions about the future of hydrogen as a fuel source.
The commissioner said there were competing claims in the government about the extent to which emissions would be offset by hydrogen, a fuel that is not widely produced in Canada.
The commissioner questioned Natural Resources Canada’s estimates that hydrogen could reduce carbon dioxide to 45 megatons by 2030, a significant share of expected emission reductions, given that there are currently relatively few hydrogen supplies in Canada.
DeMarco said the government’s dubious hydrogen targets “raise concerns about their overall approach to climate modeling and overall emissions reduction”.
WATCH: Canadian Environment Commissioner Discusses Governmental Hydrogen Modeling
The Canadian Commissioner for the Environment is discussing government hydrogen modeling
Jerry DeMarco says government’s assessment of the effect of hydrogen use on emissions targets “increases[s] concerns about their overall approach to climate modeling and reducing emissions in general. “0:57
Speaking on the sidelines of the Edmonton Hydrogen Conference, Natural Resources Secretary Jonathan Wilkinson said it was “feasible” to boost the hydrogen industry in the coming years, adding that his department’s estimates were based on what was possible.
In response, Singh said the government’s emissions plan was a “complete mess”.
“They are counting on carbon and hydrogen capture, but based on what the commissioner for the environment has said, this plan will not be reduced,” Singh said.
Despite repeated promises to introduce legislation to initiate a “fair transition” for energy workers facing unemployment as Canada moves toward a greener future, DeMarco said he found little evidence that the liberal government had done any significant work on this question.
The commissioner for the environment says the federal government is not doing enough to help oil and gas workers find other jobs. (Kyle Bucks / CBC)
To help coal workers who have already been forced to leave their jobs by federal regulations, the government relies heavily on the existing employment system (EI) – a policy approach, DeMarco said, which could make the country to experience something akin to a catastrophic moratorium on fever in Newfoundland and Labrador, which resulted in thousands of job losses.
Singh said on Wednesday that workers should be at the heart of any government action on climate change. With 170,000 workers in the fossil fuel industry facing an uncertain future, the NDP leader said Ottawa must work out a credible plan to prevent an economic disaster.
“We cannot leave workers behind and there is no plan in what the Liberals have proposed,” he said. – This is a complete failure.
The commissioner also punished the federal government for allowing some provinces to impose less heavy carbon taxes on industrial emissions.
Singh said the result was “billions of dollars” in subsidies for major polluters, while fuel-consuming consumers – especially those in rural, remote and local communities – paid more for daily activities.
In his response to the commissioner, Environment Minister Stephen Gilbo said the government was committed to implementing a “fair and efficient” carbon pricing system. Work is under way to establish minimum national standards for all carbon pricing systems for industrial emissions, he said.
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