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With a new president entering the White House next year, many Canadians — and environmental advocates everywhere — are feeling a bit more optimistic about the future of meaningful climate action on both sides of the border. But in the words of vice-president-elect Kamala Harris: “Now is when the real work begins.”
Joe Biden plans to waste no time in rolling up his sleeves: the president-elect has already promised to re-enter the Paris Agreement on Day 1 of his term, and Biden’s proposed US$2-trillion clean energy plan aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in the U.S. by 2050 (In Canada, the Liberals have set the same target). If Biden manages to enact all of his climate plans, experts say it could put Paris goals “within striking distance.”
But therein lies the challenge, for both the U.S. and Canada. Visions that stretch decades into the future can provide governments with a long-term road map to guide their efforts, but distant targets and lengthy timelines also let leaders off the hook by reducing the sense of urgency around climate action. Canada’s own track record on such initiatives illustrates this: since 1988, the country has missed five of the nine climate targets it set. Last year, Canada was on pace to meet its Paris target two centuries late. Despite ambitious, “moon shot” goals, the Climate Action Tracker has labelled our country’s efforts so far as “insufficient” to keep global warming at 2 C or less, let alone the Paris target of 1.5 C.
“They mean something symbolically,” Greta Thunberg recently said of such long-term climate pledges, “but if you look at what they actually include, or more importantly exclude, there are so many loopholes. We shouldn’t be focusing on dates 10, 20 or even 30 years in the future. If we don’t reduce our emissions now, then those distant targets won’t mean anything because our carbon budgets will be long gone.”
As the federal government charts a course for economic recovery, there is opportunity — and support — for bold action on climate change. Six in 10 Canadians believe now is the time for the federal government to make “major changes to fix long-standing problems in society” such as inequality, racism and the climate crisis. Oilpatch workers are urging the government to invest in renewable energy development, and advocates have pushed for funding clean technology to help rebuild the economy.
That action has been slow to materialize: September’s throne speech outlined only a handful of new green initiatives set forth by the Liberal government. Recent deals with Alberta and Saskatchewan allow the provinces to regulate their own methane emissions, meaning that, without additional measures, Canada will fall short of its 2025 methane reduction target. There is still no money behind the Liberals' promise to plant two billion trees by 2030, and Ontario’s latest budget, unveiled last week, includes no plans for a green recovery.
As Canada and the U.S. begin a new chapter in their relationship, the prospect of achieving climate goals in both countries now seems a little more within reach, but it’s going to take a sustained effort to succeed — and time, as ever, is running out.
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