Opposition parties are signaling different climate goals for the Trudeau government ahead of the COP26 conference in Scotland, which begins on Sunday.
Federal NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh is pushing for what he describes as meaningful action from Canada, as the world gathers to reset targets and strategies to tackle climate change.
He wants to see the federal government commit to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent of 2005 levels by 2030.
“President Biden is committing to 50 per cent. To me, it’s a lack of leadership to not even match the level of the United States,” he said Wednesday.
Singh is showing willingness to compromise with the current 40-45 per cent target from the Trudeau government, as long as it is on the higher end of that range.
“They put out a target that’s below 50 per cent, we want to push them as high as possible,” he told reporters Wednesday, vowing his party would continue to push the government to get as close to the half mark as possible.
He also wants Canada to eliminate subsidies for fossil fuel industries.
“The federal government should not be subsidizing new oil and gas,” he added.
After being sworn in as environment minister, Steven Guilbeault did signal Canadians want to see more action on climate change and they want to see it done faster. However, he did not tip his hand on what to expect from the conference, which will be held over several days.
The Conservatives are expressing concerns over Justin Trudeau’s decision to appoint Guilbeault, a former climate activist, to the environment file.
“We’ve got net-zero guys in key positions that are going to absolutely kill Alberta’s economy,” said Calgary Signal Hill MP Ron Liepert.
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The Conservative’s representative for Carleton, Pierre Poilievre, is also expressing concern about the direction of the government, as well as Guilbeault’s appointment.
“A Green Peace activist who believes in much higher energy prices and shutting down industries that employ hundreds of thousands of people,” he said.
Singh says it’s important any strategy includes a plan to help workers across all industries.
“We cannot fight the climate crisis by leaving thousands of workers behind. There has to be a clear plan to invest in creating good jobs for workers, to make sure workers are not left behind, to give them a clear path,” Singh said.
“We want to ensure that in our commitment to fight this climate crisis, we bring everyone along. We will not be able to move forward if the workers, who are right now worried about their future, are not included in the plan.”
A recent report from the Climate Action Tracker, an independent scientific analysis, found Canada’s target of 40-45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 would not meet the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement.
The report noted even the measures announced in the 2021 federal budget are insufficient to meet the targets outlined as part of that deal.