Environmental Defence

On Sept. 8 and 9, up to 100 debates on the environment will take place across Canada, giving voters a chance to see where their candidates stand on environmental policy.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers says its platform, released Aug. 24, demonstrates the industry’s desire to transition to a lower-carbon economy. Environmentalists, however, say it promotes a business-as-usual approach to the climate crisis.

The Parliament we elect Sept. 20 will hold our climate fate in its hands, writes columnist Seth Klein.

If elected, the federal NDP would identify fossil fuel subsidies, eliminate them “once and for all,” and spend the money on the renewable energy sector, Leader Jagmeet Singh said on the campaign trail Monday morning.

At a time when climate science demands a rapid transition off fossil fuels, Ottawa approved more than $1.3 billion for oil and gas companies through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy.

Ottawa and its critics agree there is much more work to be done to achieve Transport Canada’s goal of phasing out the sale of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035, but plans have stalled until the United States sets its course.

Canada’s now official 2030 greenhouse gas emission reduction target is a far cry from what’s needed to avoid climate breakdown, say critics panning the goal for its inadequacy.

Ottawa is setting a new goal for when new cars and trucks will be required to be net-zero in a clear sign to the auto industry that the era of gas-guzzlers is coming to an end.

Despite plans to go electric, major auto manufacturers are focused on polluting SUVs and pickup trucks in the near term, which has one environmental group calling for new levels of federal scrutiny.

Alberta's oil and gas industry is committing to net-zero with the hope carbon capture technology pays off. But will it?

The Alberta government is rebuffing an influential International Energy Agency plan to reach net-zero carbon pollution as an “unreasonable” and “unfeasible” proposal “driven by activists.”

“We're finding that (methane) emissions are at least 1.5 times higher than what's currently being reported in official inventory reports,” says Katlyn MacKay, lead author of a recent study.

By 2050, when the federal government has pledged to reach net-zero emissions, the planned highway could have created up to 17.4 million tonnes (or megatonnes) of greenhouse gases, according to a report from Environmental Defence.

Industry is excited about the budget's carbon-capture investments. But the technology is still expensive, and projects have not performed to expectations. Environmentalists worry it will lock us in to fossil fuels. Will Trudeau's wager pay off?

The federal government has an opportunity to change course in about three weeks, when the Liberals table their first budget in over two years, say green groups.