Jessica Ng (12) | STAFF REPORTER
Canada is dedicated to meeting its international commitments to track and report GHG emissions so that our country can make sustainable choices for our future. The four major political parties have informed the public of their targets and what this means in tackling climate change. With this goal in mind, the look to conquer climate change one step at a time.
The Liberals plan to rely mostly on the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change which includes carbon pricing along with phasing out coal. This method is setting a clean fuel standard, encouraging consumers to take up electrical vehicles. As for the Conservatives, they wish to change some of the Liberal policies. This includes the consumer part of the carbon tax and clean fuel policies. Instead, they want to put their money towards green innovation. Furthermore, the promise of the NDP is to expand the levy on industrial emitters, remove fossil fuel subsidies, and increase government funding for clean areas such as transport and renewable energy. As for the Greens, they are ambitious to cut oil production, retrofit buildings in Canada, and move towards electric cars as well.
While liberals have been laying out increasingly ambitious policies for the plans to reduce carbon emissions, there are still missing details concerning ways that greenhouse gas reduction can be achieved. Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, says that “We can do more”, as he protests against his own government’s record of failure. The Green Party dismissed the new Liberal goals as “greenwashing”. Overall, there is still much to be done in terms of cutting greenhouse gases, but seeing the plans in action would begin a start of a new revolution.
