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July 28, 2022 – Environment and Climate Change Canada’s 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan (ERP) is “a plan to have a plan,” according to a new Policy Seminar Report from the C.D. Howe Institute.

The C.D. Howe Institute held a Special Policy Seminar on June 23, 2022, with the goal of providing an objective review of the Plan’s aspirations with respect to greenhouse gases (GHG) and its proposed path to 2030. The key questions addressed by the conference were: What’s realistic? How feasible are the Plan’s projected 2030 outcomes? What are their implications for the economy, for households and for businesses?

The conference featured experts on, and representatives from, the largest sectors highlighted in the ERP to discuss the Plan’s feasibility. The cross-sector scope and economy-wide scale of the Plan makes it unprecedented in modern Canadian policy. No speaker or participant unreservedly found the Plan’s aspirations easily achievable. Ottawa should consider the following next steps for the ERP:

  • Provide a greater level of modeling detail and transparency underlying the Plan. This would help stakeholders better assess the Plan and contribute to its improvement;
  • Rely on timelines that are realistic in view of the size of many of the projects and slowness of permitting. All sectors will need to gather equipment, have labour available and build infrastructure;
  • Ensure greater policy certainty and durability. It is important that participants largely know what to expect in the future and can rely on expectations when making decisions today; and
  • Improve intergovernmental coordination and cooperation among public and private sectors. Overlapping jurisdiction can blunt intended outcomes in several contexts.

Read the Full Report

For more information contact: Andrew Logan, Communications Officer, C.D. Howe Institute, (416) 479-9520 Ext. 9520 or alogan@cdhowe.org

The C.D. Howe Institute is an independent not-for-profit research institute whose mission is to raise living standards by fostering economically sound public policies. Widely considered to be Canada's most influential think tank, the Institute is a trusted source of essential policy intelligence, distinguished by research that is nonpartisan, evidence-based and subject to definitive expert review.