Canada worst among G-7 on climate actions: Green commissioner

OTTAWA • Canada has failed in its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions linked to global warming, said an independent parliamentary watchdog, ranking it as the worst climate performer among the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialised nations.

A series of reports by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development Jerry DeMarco looked at decades of government climate action that yielded a rise of more than 20 per cent in emissions since 1990.

Canada is the worst performer of all G-7 nations since the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change was adopted in 2015, environment commissioner DeMarco said on Thursday. "We can't continue to go from failure to failure; we need action and results, not just more targets and plans."

He cited, for example, a government fund to help Canada's oil and gas sector slash their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Some 40 funded projects allowed companies to increase their production and related emissions.

He said reporting by a dozen government departments on sustainable development was poor. "They did not report results for almost half their actions," he said.

Canada represents about 1.6 per cent of global CO2 emissions, but it is among the top 10 largest emitters globally and one of the highest emitters per capita. It is also the world's fourth largest oil producer and exporter.

The energy regulator projects that, while domestic consumption falls, fossil fuel output will rise because of exports.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said the commissioner's retrospective study does not factor in more than 100 recent measures undertaken by Ottawa. Those include proposed green home retrofits, capping oil and gas emissions, and ramping up electric vehicle sales.

Mr Guilbeault also pointed to a carbon tax that is set to rise to C$170 (S$184) per tonne by 2030.

Mr DeMarco said a concerted government effort on actions including the targeting of high-emission industries is needed to get Canada back on track to meeting its new goal of cutting emissions to 40-45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE