The Pembina Institute, a Canadian clean energy think tank, teamed up with Simon Fraser University in British Columbia to produce a scorecard assessing how Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial governments are faring when it comes to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other climate action.
The 2024 edition of the report, “All Together Now: A provincial scorecard on shared responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Canada,” looks not only at progress on reducing emissions, but also whether governments have set targets and ways to hold themselves accountable for meeting them.
It also assesses whether governments have specific policy measures in place that would help key sectors decarbonize, such as sales mandates for zero-emission vehicles, carbon pricing, net-zero standards for new buildings and a plan to retrofit existing buildings to meet them. The scorecard also considers whether governments have worked equity and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples into their climate plans.
Organizations
The scorecard concludes that British Columbia, Quebec and the federal government to be showing the greatest climate leadership, while Alberta and Saskatchewan are the lowest performers.
The report also stresses the importance of all governments needing to work together so that Canada can meet its commitments to reduce emissions to 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The authors say they hope that governments further behind on emissions reductions can see that good policies actually work, and that those making progress are encouraged to stick with it. They also note each jurisdiction has different contexts and needs.
As the authors wrote in the executive summary:
It is also the case that climate success requires an innovative, place-based approach that includes core elements, but is designed for the unique needs and circumstances of each jurisdiction. That is why, in addition to reducing emissions across every sector, governments must also consider how the energy transition will impact their workforces and populations, particularly equity-deserving groups and Indigenous Peoples, and take steps to prepare. In the short time we have left to 2030, we encourage policy-makers to prioritize action in the areas where there is the greatest scope for rapid, deep emissions reductions. This requires careful examination of the emissions profile of each jurisdiction, and we hope our report can be helpful there too.
But one thing is clear: a lack of planning, or a lack of action, will not stop the effects of climate change and the energy transition coming to every corner of Canada. That is why, in 2024, we are encouraging governments to think of climate policy as economic policy. Citizens and communities across this country expect their leaders to think ahead about how their needs will be met through the clean economies of the future. Governments that do not take action today to reduce emissions in line with Canada’s international commitments are not only leaving their populations vulnerable to the most devastating impacts of climate change, they are doing a disservice to the future competitiveness of their jurisdictions and their industries in the global marketplace. Although the time left to plan is rapidly running out, there are still opportunities to accelerate emissions reductions across Canada. We will continue to work alongside all jurisdictions that are interested in designing and mplementing innovative, people-centred climate and energy policies, and we hope this report provides another chance for dialogue and for progress.
“All Together Now:
A provincial scorecard on shared responsibility to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions in Canada,” by Sarah McBain, Thomas Gunton, Chelsea Mathieson,
Martha Kilian, Matt Dreis & Simon Dyer. Pembina Institute. July 3, 2024.
Download the full report originally published by the Pembina Institute on July 3, 2024.
