‘A lot of uncertainty’: Expert reacts to Canada’s new climate strategy

Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada Caroline Brouillette says the recently removed climate policies are missing the mark.

An industry expert says Canada’s new Climate Competitiveness Strategy, outlined in the federal budget leaves more questions than answers about the country’s direction on climate-related policies.

Outlined on Tuesday by the federal government, the strategy is promising to make the country’s economy stronger and more competitive by fighting climate change, lowering emissions and investing in clean energy.

But for Caroline Brouillette, executive director of Climate Action Network Canada, the strategy is not competitive.

“When we look at what Canada was doing prior, (this strategy) actually brings us back and deprives us of key tools and policies that impact our capacity to fight climate change in this country and to respond to a global economy that is rapidly transforming towards the adoption of renewable energy and electric-based technology,” Brouillette told CTV News Channel on Sunday.

The strategy promises to strengthen industrial carbon pricing, issue regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, elevate clean economy investment through tax credits, support critical minerals projects, utilize capital for the transition to net-zero and develop new ways to track progress.

However, Brouillette said the strategy is unclear on how these initiatives will be achieved.

“The strategy doesn’t even give us our destination,” she said.

“When we plan for climate change policies, emissions reduction targets are not just numbers. They are a direction for the economy. They are a direction for private sector investment, and so, the government introduced a lot of uncertainty by removing existing policies.”

“I think the government has to recommit to our existing targets.”

With the annual United Nations climate change talks, the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP 30), beginning in Brazil Monday, Brouillette says she is concerned about what Canada will present.

“I am very worried about Canada’s participation, given that the recent signals that we have gotten from Prime Minister Carney and his government have only been about moving back on existing policy,” she said.

“Whether Canada is still committed, not only to climate action, but to the international cooperation that is so necessary in this moment when we’re facing geopolitical pressures is going to be crucial.”

Brouillette says it’s important for the upcoming talks tackle climate multilateralism and deliver tangible action and results for workers, communities and Indigenous nations.

“We need to connect this negotiation process with the day-to-day lives of people who are facing real economy pressures and a different reality on the ground,” she said.