Canada’s Failure to Act on Climate Change
Trudeau is full of promises, but empty on action
The Canadian government recently introduced a bill to achieve a net-zero economy by 2050 — but unfortunately, much like the government’s climate emergency declaration in June 2019, it falls flat in a big way.
Firstly, the first five-year emissions-reduction target is set for 2030, which directly conflicts with mounting evidence that climate change must be tackled in the next decade to prevent irreversible damage. The bill, introduced as an “accountability framework,” also buys the government ample time to sidestep responsibility while claiming to be proactive about climate policy. By the time the first target rolls around, Trudeau will be long gone and resting easy knowing he will be given credit for introducing the bill — leaving the dirty work of implementation and politicking to another political mouthpiece. Another shortcoming of the bill is that it fails to include a comprehensive plan to actually meet targets — and, consequently, it fails to include penalties for not meeting targets. As we have seen with the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, excluding penalties for non-compliance gives an easy way out for participating countries to bow out of their climate commitments.
