What should Canada be doing about climate change? 25 recommendations
CTV
The national Net-Zero Advisory Body released 25 recommendations Friday for how Canada can adjust its climate plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 — a goal that the country is not on track to reach right now, according to the report.
The national Net-Zero Advisory Body released 25 recommendations Friday for how Canada can adjust its climate plan to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 — a goal that the country is not on track to reach right now, according to the report.
The report is the first of what will be an annual initiative, and is directed at the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change.
The report covers a lot of ground, but among the recommendations are: a stronger focus on developing net-zero industrial sectors that have economic benefits in this initial stage; the launch of a council to faster facilitate the development of a net-zero electricity grid from coast to coast; actions to streamline the approval process for net-zero projects and the creation of a public-facing dashboard and independent modelling; and data centre to report on Canada's net-zero progress with more transparency.
The advisory body's final recommendation stressed that the federal government should "embed principles of the United Nations Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples when it makes decisions pertaining to energy sector transformation."
"With the passing of each year, we set record high temperatures and witness increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events," the report stated. "This trend will continue and worsen as long as our prosperity and well-being rely on a carbon-based economy. It is time for Canada to end this dependence and accelerate the attainment of a net-zero emissions society."
Canada's Net-Zero Advisory Body is comprised of experts from across the country, and was first formed in 2021 under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act to deliver advice pertaining to the government's climate change plans as an independent body.
Canada has set out specific goals for emissions reductions on the way to its ultimate goal of net-zero emissions by 2050. The 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, released in November, lays out how Canada hopes to achieve the 2030 target of reducing emissions to between 40 and 45 per cent below 2005 emission levels.
