Good morning,
The collapse of the supply and confidence agreement with the NDP has the Liberal government locked in a near daily struggle to survive. The agreement ended last month and since then, there have already been two non-confidence votes and a threat from the Bloc Quebecois to stop propping up the Liberals if they don’t approve an increase to old age security payments.
These incessant political machinations have a way of sucking up all the available oxygen on Parliament Hill. And that bodes ill for climate policies the Liberals were hoping to enact before the next election. They include; an emissions cap on industrial carbon pollution, clean energy regulations that would force all provinces to decarbonize their power grids by 2035, and methane pollution reduction targets.
All three are hugely important steps to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas pollution Canada spews into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gas emissions, of course, are created primarily by the burning of fossil fuels which release carbon into the atmosphere and cause global heating.
The oil and gas industry and its allies would like nothing better than to see these stringent climate policies die on the vine. In 2023 alone, lobbyists from the oil and gas sector met with politicians and federal policy-makers approximately twice a week to water down or get rid of the emissions cap. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) has continued the effort this year, bleating non-stop about the impact a cap would have on the Canadian economy. The intensity of the opposition shows this is badly needed climate policy with real teeth.
Proposed clean energy regulations have also met with resistance, particularly in provinces like Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario where hydroelectricity is not plentiful. The federal government has already tweaked its demands to give some provinces more time to improvise, but without a federal mandate, it is highly unlikely the recalcitrant regions will take action.
Meanwhile, more stringent regulations on methane emissions are still not in place even though there are well-known ways to reduce leaks during gas production and capture methane emissions from landfills. Again, without a federal mandate, it is highly unlikely any gas company will cut into profits and spend what it takes to reduce pollution.
So, where does this leave us if the Liberals lose so much support that an early election is called? As Anna McIntosh from Ecojustice told my colleague Natasha Bulowski, “In my opinion, any regulation that isn’t made by the time the government falls is toast.” A shame for Canada and another blow to the climate.
— Adrienne Tanner
TOP STORY
🏃🏾In the waning days of its administration, the federal Liberal government still hopes to pass a few important climate initiatives. These policies, which include a cap on greenhouse gas pollution from industry, are hugely important to Canada’s commitment to help reduce global heating. The other two are clean energy regulations, which aim to decarbonize the country’s electricity grid by 2035, and enhanced measures to rein in releases of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
Natasha Bulowski reports
Quote of the Week
“People’s beliefs about climate change are driven predominantly by political factors,” said Peter Howe, an environmental social scientist and expert on climate communication at Utah State University
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