After more than 30 years of trying, Canada has yet to meet one of its carbon emissions targets.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Douglas Macdonald, University of Toronto
At the climate summit held in Paris in December 2015, the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau committed to reducing Canadian emissions of greenhouse gases (most importantly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels) to 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030.
Last fall, the prime minister made a new commitment, promising that by 2050 Canadian emissions would be net-zero. This means emissions would be drastically reduced and any remaining emissions would be offset by using negative emissions technologies, such as tree planting or carbon capture from the air, to take an equivalent amount of carbon out of the atmosphere. Setting aside the technical viability of such technologies, it seems entirely reasonable for the prime minister to declare these Canadian objectives.
To achieve any goal, we set targets and then measure our progress in achieving them. Simply saying, ?I want to lose some weight? is much less useful than adopting a specific goal, such as losing four pounds a month for six months. If at the end of the first month I have only lost two pounds, I can make further changes to our diet and so keep on track.
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Surely, Canada can do the same thing. We can set targets, such as those for 2030 and 2050, monitor emissions and then, as necessary, change our reduction programs to be sure the targets a...