DEMAND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT KEEP THEIR CLEAN ELECTRICITY PROMISE
Send a letter urging the Federal Government to strengthen the Clean Electricity Regulations and keep their promise to reach net-zero emissions.
The Federal government has proposed Clean Electricity Regulations that are meant to phase out polluting power generation across the country. But there’s a major loophole in the draft plan: if new gas plants get built before January 2025 then they could continue to operate and emit greenhouse gasses as late as 2045!
During the 2021 federal election, Prime Minister Trudeau promised to introduce a "Clean Electricity Standard that will set Canada on a path to cut more emissions by 2030 and to achieve a 100 per cent net-zero emitting electricity system by 2035.” However, the current drafted regulations will not deliver on this promise.
To deliver on the commitment to a net-zero grid, Canada must strengthen the draft Clean Electricity Regulations to:
Include interim targets that ratchet down over time to spur the power sector to move toward net-zero before 2035.
Ensure that no gas plants are able to operate after 2035 except for in real emergencies.
Remove loopholes allowing for gas plants with carbon capture (“abated” gas). So far, the use of carbon capture in the power sector has resulted in expensive failures. There are no existing commercial gas plants with carbon capture anywhere in the world. Carbon capture for the power sector is a dead end – and a license to pollute. Canada should reject this pathway.
Make it clear that gas plants will pay the full carbon price for every tonne of CO2 released beginning in 2030.
Climate change has hit home in Canada this year in a big way. The flooding and fires seen this year are just a preview of what we should expect in a warmer world. The federal government deserves to be applauded for commiting to decarbonize the electricity system, but the current plans are unlikely to meet the government’s 2035 targets.