Watching Government: Canada's climate commitment

The joint communique issued by Canada's First Ministers on Mar. 3 in Vancouver, BC, confirmed what officials from the country's National Energy Board said a day earlier in Washington: Climate issues are being taken seriously now above the border.

NEB's new Energy Future 2016 report did not incorporate such questions, but future forecasts will, Energy Integration Director Abha Bhargava said at the Center for Strategic and International Studies on Mar. 2. "It's difficult to answer climate questions," she said. "There's a lot happening. Something will come out of this."

Something clearly did the following day in Vancouver. Premiers from Canada's provinces and territories agreed to work with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national government to move the country "toward a pan-Canadian framework for clean growth and climate change that will meet or exceed Canada's international emissions targets, and will transition our country to a stronger, more resilient, low-carbon economy-while also improving our quality of life."

The document emphasized cooperation between the national government in Ottawa and the provinces and territories.

For its part, the national government pledged to support more green infrastructure investment, motor vehicle electrification, and clean electricity generation and transmission. It also said it would work to reduce dependence on diesel fuel in Indigenous, remote, and northern communities, and replace it with renewable clean energy.

"We will identify measures that governments can take to grow their economies and reduce emissions in the long term," the communique said. "To this end, we directed immediate work in four areas: clean technology, innovation, and jobs; carbon pricing mechanisms adapted to each province and territory's specific circumstances and in particular the realities of Canada's indigenous peoples and Arctic and sub-Arctic regions; specific mitigation opportunities; and adaptation and climate resilience."

Working groups

Four working groups will be established to report on these priorities, it said. The reports, including options, will be submitted to the appropriate ministries and be made public. Ministers then will review those reports and provide their recommendations to First Ministers by October, the communique said.

One immediate question, obviously, is whether natural gas will supply an immediate alternative in Canada to coal in generating electricity and petroleum in transportation. Another is if the country's oil and gas industry will be a significant part of the latest discussion.

It's engaged already. "Canada's oil and gas sector believes climate change is an important issue to address-globally and within Canada," the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers says on its web site. "We are ready and willing to do our part to contribute to the overall Canadian plan on climate change." Technology and innovation will be the strength and key, it added.