net-zero emissions

The federal government is quietly looking at a plan for longer-term recovery from the COVID-19 crisis even as its focus remains squarely on getting more than $100 billion in emergency economic aid out the door.

The federal cabinet's decision on a huge new Alberta oilsands mine will weigh what the province is doing to help Canada achieve its climate goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson said on Tuesday, January 28, 2020.

"The state has to demonstrate how important it is to not just pass bold climate policy but to get the implementation right."

In an effort to move away from fossil fuels, U.S. communities from California to Massachusetts are instituting bans on natural gas in new construction. Proponents say the measures are critical for speeding the transition to an all-electric future powered by renewable energy.