Canada Targets Net-Zero Emissions By 2050 With Bill C-12

ICYMI:

Canada’s Net-Zero Accountability Act (Bill C-12) is before the Senate and will hopefully become legislation soon.

An increase in extreme weather events including floods, forest fires, and snowstorms, has demonstrated that climate change is real and it’s one of the biggest challenges we are currently facing. That’s why Bill C-12 is so important. This historic legislation puts Canada’s emission reduction targets into law and is essential to keeping the world that our children and grandchildren grow up in safe and liveable. 

What is Bill C-12?

Bill C-12, or the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act, was introduced in Parliament on November 19, 2020. It proposes to formalize Canada’s target to achieve net-zero emissions by the year 2050, and establishes a series of interim emissions reduction targets at five-year milestones toward that goal.

What Does Net-Zero Mean?

Achieving net-zero emissions would mean our economy either emits no greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions or offsets emissions, by doing things like tree-planting or leveraging technologies that can capture carbon before it is released into the air. Reducing GHGs, or removing them from the atmosphere, can help to slow global warming and mitigate some of the effects of climate change.

What are GHGs?

GHGs are gasses, like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide that create a “greenhouse effect” that prevents some of the sun’s heat from escaping the earth. According to scientists, the trend of rising global temperatures since the mid-twentieth century can be attributed to human activity

Why is Bill C-12 important?

The health and safety of future generations depend on taking decisive action to fight the climate crisis. Climate change, exacerbated by human activity, is threatening human health, livelihoods, food security and water supply, and biodiversity and ecosystems. 

While this meme is meant to be funny, there is an unsettling element of truth to it. We need to significantly reduce our GHGs and mitigate the effects of climate change.

If we do not lower emissions and combat climate change, extreme weather events and heatwaves - like the one we’re in right now - could become increasingly more normal. 

Investing in the Green Economy: 

To support post-pandemic economic recovery that serves Canada’s climate action goals, the government made a series of investments into the green economy in Budget 2021. This includes funding to help more than 200,000 Canadians make their homes greener, investing in world-leading technologies that make industry cleaner to help build a net-zero economy, supporting Canada’s goal of conserving 25% of our lands and oceans by 2025, and creating good middle-class jobs in the green economy along the way.

Looking Ahead: 

It is imperative that Bill C-12 becomes legislation and that Canada remains committed to its emissions reduction targets and climate action goals. I am extremely passionate about protecting our environment and had the honour of chairing the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development as your MP from 2015-2019. In fact, I’m proud to say, many of the most recent amendments to the Canada Environmental Protection Act were a result of the Committee’s work. 

Our community needs a driven, proven, and progressive leader who recognizes the urgency of the climate crisis, who will advocate for continued investments in the green economy and protect our environment. 

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