Emissions Reduction Fund—Natural Resources Canada; Lessons Learned from Canada’s Record on Climate Change

Opening Statement to the Standing Senate Committee on Energy, the Environment and Natural Resources

Emissions Reduction Fund—Natural Resources Canada

(Report 4—2021 Reports of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

Lessons Learned from Canada’s Record on Climate Change

(Report 5—2021 Reports of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development)

3 March 2022

Jerry V. DeMarco
Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We are happy to appear before your committee today. I would like to acknowledge that this hearing is taking place on the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People. As you know, I presented 5 reports to Parliament on 25 November 2021. Today I will focus my opening remarks on the 2 reports that I understand are of most interest to the committee: Lessons Learned from Canada’s Record on Climate Change, and Emissions Reduction Fund. With me today are Kimberley Leach, James McKenzie, and Francis Michaud who were responsible for my recent reports.

First, I would like to focus on Lessons Learned from Canada’s Record on Climate Change. This report is not an audit but a summary of lessons learned from Canada’s climate change efforts since 1990.

After more than 30 years, the trend in Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions, which create harmful climate impacts is going up. Despite repeated government commitments to decrease emissions, they have increased by more than 20% since 1990.

Canada was once a leader in the fight against climate change. However, after a series of missed opportunities, it has become the worst performer of all Group of 7G7 nations since the landmark Paris Agreement on climate change was adopted in 2015. There has been some recent momentum in the form of legislation and stronger plans, so I’m still optimistic that Canada’s performance can be turned around. But we can’t continue to go from failure to failure; we need action and results, not just more targets and plans.

At the heart of this report are 8 lessons learned from Canada’s action and inaction on the enduring climate crisis.

Leadership is the first lesson. Stronger leadership and coordination are needed to drive progress on climate change. Other lessons include reducing dependence on high-emission industries, learning to adapt to climate change impacts, investing in a climate-resilient future, increasing public awareness, acting on and not just speaking about climate targets, involving all climate solution actors, and protecting the interests of future generations.

To help frame discussions on climate change, our report provides critical questions that legislators and others can consider to prompt action against commitments. We’ve provided these in an appendix to this statement for your reference.

I’m going to turn now to our audit of the Emissions Reduction Fund for the oil and gas sector. This fund was part of the measures that the Government of Canada rolled out in response to the COVID‑19 pandemic. It aimed to reduce harmful emissions while maintaining employment and encouraging investments in oil and gas companies.

We found that the program was poorly designed because it did not link funding to net emission reductions from conventional onshore oil and gas operations. For example, in two thirds of the 40 projects funded by the Emissions Reduction Fund’s first intake period, companies stated in their applications that the funding would allow them to increase their production levels. When production increases, so do the related emissions, and these increases were not reflected in Natural Resources Canada’s projections.

To help Canada achieve its national targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, Natural Resources Canada should make sure that its policies, programs, and measures are based on reliable estimates of expected emission reductions.

The COVID‑19 pandemic has shown that in a crisis, strong, concerted government action has a positive impact. The enduring crisis of climate change looms larger than ever. Like pandemics, climate change is a global crisis, one about which experts have been raising the alarm for decades. Pandemics and climate change both carry risks to human health and the economy, and both require whole-of-society responses to protect present and future generations.

In closing, there is a need for the federal government to achieve real outcomes on environmental protection and sustainable development—not just words on paper or unfulfilled promises. All too often, Canada’s environmental commitments are not met with the actions needed to protect air, land, water, and wildlife, now and for future generations. And this is a trend we urgently need to reverse.

Mr. Chair, this concludes my opening remarks. We are happy to answer any questions the committee may have.

Appendix—Lessons Learned from Canada’s Record on Climate Change—Considerations for Parliamentarians

Lesson 1: Stronger leadership and coordination are needed to drive progress toward climate commitments

Considerations for parliamentarians

Lesson 2: Canada’s economy is still dependent on emission‑intensive sectors

Considerations for parliamentarians

Lesson 3: Adaptation must be prioritized to protect against the worst effects of climate change

Considerations for parliamentarians

Lesson 4: Canada risks falling behind other countries on investing in a climate‑resilient future

Considerations for parliamentarians

Lesson 5: Increasing public awareness of the climate challenge is a key lever for progress

Considerations for parliamentarians

Lesson 6: Climate targets have not been backed by strong plans or actions

Considerations for parliamentarians

Lesson 7: Enhanced collaboration among all actors is needed to find climate solutions

Considerations for parliamentarians

Lesson 8: Climate change is an intergenerational crisis with a rapidly closing window for action

Considerations for parliamentarians