Canada is halfway to meeting its 2020 greenhouse gas reduction targets, the government announced Wednesday, though environmentalists say provinces deserve most of the credit.
Environment Minister Peter Kent said the government has taken a “sector-by-sector approach” that has begun with two of Canada’s largest sources of emissions—electricity and transportation—but will move on other sectors, including oil and gas.
Under the Copenhagen Accord, Canada has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. But the David Suzuki Foundation says the feds have actually done little work to reduce emissions.
“The federal government is attempting to take credit for climate change action taken by the provinces, while gutting and cutting programs and institutions that had been helping with climate policy,” says Ian Bruce, the foundation’s climate change and clean energy specialist.
The foundation released a report in April that claimed reductions came from provincial initiatives like Ontario’s phase out of coal-fired power, B.C.’s carbon tax incentive for clean energy, and Quebec’s public transit improvements.
“Meanwhile, the government has cut institutions such as the national Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, and been criticized by the Office of the Auditor General of Canada for the lack of a clear plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” says a press release from the group.
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