P.E.I.'s greenhouse gas emissions went down for 3 consecutive years, report shows

Prince Edward Island reduced its greenhouse gas emissions three straight years, according to a new report — but as the province strives towards its goal to reach net-zero by 2040, it must hone in on transportation, says Gilles Arsenault, P.E.I.'s minister of environment, energy and climate action.

“Transportation is a weak point all throughout the country, so we're not alone in this,” he said. “We have way more traffic in P.E.I. than we had even four years ago.”

The 2025 National Inventory Report, compiled using data from 2023, found that total greenhouse gas emissions on P.E.I. were 1.59 megatonnes that year. That's nearly a one per cent decrease over 2022, according to a news release issued by the province.

Under P.E.I.'s Net-zero Carbon Act, the province needs to reduce emissions to less than 1.2 megatonnes by 2030.

P.E.I.’s three consecutive years of overall emissions reductions came during a time when the province's population grew by almost 17 per cent, the release states.

“I think the programming that we put in place is working, and I think people are changing some of their habits as well,” Arsenault said. 

The programs making the biggest impact are related to building, he said, especially the province's home insulation rebates and its heat pump program. 

“The new buildings... in terms of the way they're heating the building, either it's geothermal, either it's heat pumps, it's the insulation program on the new builds. It's easier," Arsenault said.

“But it's also with the buildings that we have currently in the province [that] we're refurbishing with this type of insulation and heating systems.”

Arsenault said a new net-zero action plan will be released this winter that will lay out the province’s programming for the next five years.

He said transportation is a priority in the plan.

While programs like the active transportation fund and "toonie transit" have been successful, more needs to be done to tackle transportation emissions. For example, the province is looking at electric vehicle rebates and charging infrastructure for EVs.

“It's a mix of all those transportation tools that we have that we're going to be working on,” Arsenault said. 

The pursuit of net-zero goals comes as P.E.I. faces electricity shortages. Arsenault said it’s “a balancing act.”