Mark Carney says Canada won't meet Justin Trudeau-era emissions benchmarks
· Toronto Sun
See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source
OTTAWA — Canada won’t be meeting its greenhouse gas emissions goals .
Visit bettingx.bond for more information.
That message came Tuesday from Prime Minister Mark Carney in a 17-minute video posted on his YouTube page , where he said Canada won’t be meeting its near-term emissions benchmarks set by the former Justin Trudeau government — citing Canada’s economic and affordability crisis, interprovincial strife and unprecedented levels of geopolitical instability.
“The climate plan we inherited from the previous government was well-intentioned and well-suited for the times in which it was designed,” Carney said in his video, entitled Forward Guidance: Canada’s Energy Future — conspicuously avoiding mention of his predecessor’s name.
“The climate crisis is still with us and our commitment to fighting it is absolute — but the certainties of the world in 2015 are long gone.”
Canada’s emissions benchmarks, set by the Trudeau government, were based on a number of agreements and accords, including the 2015 Paris Agreement, Canada’s 2021 Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act and specifically the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan — vowing a 45% to 50% reduction in emissions.
Milestones under that act aren’t just arbitrary targets, but statutory obligations hard-coded into the legislation.
Geopolitics creating ‘chaos’
Geopolitics, Carney continued, haven’t been this unstable since the end of the Second World War.
“We must establish stability amidst this chaos.”
While he said the energy transition is a good thing in the long run, Canada must look to short-term solutions for problems in the here and now.
“The goal remains the same, but as times have changed we must change our plan to get there,” Carney said.
“We can’t afford to restrain the growth of an important part of our energy mix — oil and gas — to meet a short-term goal.”
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Carney invokes Alberta’s NEP trauma
While Carney didn’t specifically address growing alienation and separatist sentiments in Alberta, he did reference regional tensions surrounding Canada’s energy policy, even recalling growing up in Alberta under former PM Pierre Trudeau’s divisive National Energy Policy.
“I was a teenager in Edmonton when the National Energy Program was introduced and I remember how Ottawa made Albertans feel like our reserves weren’t our own. And then more recently, we were made to feel our energy contributions were running against the tides of history,” he said.
“What should have brought us together began to divide us, contributing to a half-century of politics that have too often pulled us apart.”
Since becoming PM a little over a year ago, Carney has systematically dismantled a number of key Trudeau-era environmental policies, including the 2035 ban on internal combustion engine vehicles , the consumer carbon tax, the Clean Electricity Regulations and the emissions cap on Canada’s oil and gas industry.