Will Canada’s updated federal climate plan be enough to avoid climate catastrophe?
On the heels of the latest IPCC report, Canada is releasing its latest federal climate plan, officially known as the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP). But will it meet the needs of the climate emergency? We can use our emergency markers framework to evaluate it.
In June 2021, Canada passed the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act (Bill C-12), a legally binding Act that requires emissions-reduction targets and the plans to achieve them.
For information on ‘net-zero’, check out this short synopsis by Global Citizen.
But, before getting to net-zero by 2050, Canada has announced a lesser target of 40-45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. And the first legal requirement under the Act requires that the Minister of Environment and Climate Change present an Emissions Reduction Plan by the end of this month that spells out how the government will attain the 2030 target.
We now wait in anticipation for that federal climate plan. We are expecting the plan to be available by March 29.
For Canadians who are not working in a climate-related field, reading and understanding climate plans and policy can be challenging. This is a problem because we face a crisis that impacts all Canadians.
There are organizations working tirelessly to reduce obstacles and increase accessibility. For example, Climate Action Network/Réseau action climat (CAN-Rac) disseminates climate policy analysis for the public, and Indigenous Climate Action (ICA) uplifts Indigenous sovereignty and critiques colonial policies.
Our unique role as the Climate Emergency Unit is to determine if the Canadian government is in climate emergency mode… and if not, we work to mobilize all sectors in Canada to get us there through our emergency markers framework.
6 markers for the climate emergency
We believe there are six markers for determining if a government (or any large institution) has shifted into emergency mode.
When we first began sharing our climate emergency markers with people across Canada, we kept it to four markers that were adapted and abridged from Seth Klein’s book, A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency. As we campaigned and mobilized, we further expanded the emergency markers framework to be more inclusive and rooted in social justice. In doing so, we added Marker 5 and 6, already detailed in the book.
What’s the deal with these markers? And why is this an appropriate framework for the climate emergency?
As explained in Seth’s book, the Canadian government took extraordinary measures during the Second World War to ensure that it successfully navigated and confronted the rise of fascism. During the war, the government hit markers 1 through 4, and partially hit marker 5.
These war-time measures worked once, and can be used again to fight the most dangerous threat we have ever faced: the climate crisis. But, it can’t be overstated how important it is to expand on the war-time measures of WWII to empower historically excluded populations of today and nurture a more just society for our future generations. When asking people to enlist in a grand societal undertaking, we have to make a commitment to them that the society that will engage from the other end of that effort will be more just and fair than the one they are leaving behind.
But first, let’s talk federal climate policy.
The Federal Climate Plan
According to a report by CAN-Rac, Canada’s current emissions-reduction target for 2030 is just not good enough. In fact, for a wealthier country like Canada to pull its weight in reducing warming to 1.5°C, our emissions must be reduced by 60% below 2005 emissions by 2030.
Clearly, we’re not off to a good start.
Let’s outline our expectations to determine if Canada’s climate plan will show an emergency response to the climate crisis.
Marker 1. Spend what it takes to win
Is the government willing and ready to budget and spend what’s necessary to achieve our targets?
Marker 2. Create new institutions to get the job done
To reduce carbon emissions, we need new infrastructure like renewable energy solutions, efficient and accessible transportation, and energy efficient buildings. We need new public corporations that will mass produce and deploy the items needed to decarbonize and electrify our society. And new federal programs that ensure the transition happens at speed and scale. The federal climate plan should clearly outline how new infrastructure and institutions will be built, and we need to see that happen in the next few years (not back-loaded to the latter half of the decade).
Marker 3. Shift from voluntary and incentive-based policies to mandatory measures
We cannot beat the climate emergency with incrementalism. Will the government implement policies that require Big Oil and other major greenhouse gas emitters to reduce their emissions? Will they set clear and strong regulations that ban fossil fuels from our buildings and vehicles on a timeline that aligns with the emergency?
Marker 4. Tell the truth about the severity of the crisis and communicate a sense of urgency
We’ve heard the honest pleas from climate scientists in the latest IPCC report, and now we must hold our government to the same standard. Is the government ready to communicate to Canadians – forthrightly and frequently – that we indeed face an emergency? Will their messaging be coherent and consistent? And is the government ready to say a clear ‘no’ to the new fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure projects that the International Energy Agency and the IPCC have now said unequivocally we no longer abide?
Marker 5. Leave no one behind
The government needs to make a hopeful and compelling offer to people. In implementing major transformations, how will the government ensure that all people receive fair and equitable treatment and opportunities? What supports will be in place for lower-income households as we undertake this transition? What Just Transition support will be in place for fossil fuel workers and Indigenous communities on the front-lines of fossil fuel extraction?
Marker 6. Indigenous leadership and rights are essential to winning
How does the government plan to uplift, empower, and uphold Indigenous sovereignty and rights? This includes land rights and title, specifically, the right to deny pipeline expansion and industry land grabs. How will the government honour the articles in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and ensure those rights are upheld in the face of fossil fuel projects?
Climate justice must be the foundation of change
As you can see, it’s imperative that we leave no one behind (Marker 5) and uphold the truth that Indigenous leadership and rights are essential to winning the fight against the climate crisis (Marker 6). If these markers are not prioritized, people will suffer, and we will fail to keep everyone on this bus in the climate mobilization now needed.
Any solutions for the climate crisis must include frameworks to protect the people who experience the worst of the crisis while contributing the least amount of emissions.
We invite you to use these 6 Markers of Emergency Mode when reviewing the new climate plan. Here’s hoping!