Canada Fails to Reduce Greenhouse Gases

A new report claims that Canada’s recent CO2 cutting efforts have accomplished almost nothing.

About two billion dollars have been assigned to the global warming measures so far.  The bulk of the funds (1.5 billion Canadian) were used for a climate change trust fund, from which money was transferred to the provinces to reduce their emissions.

Now, a report by Scott Vaugn, Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development for the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, suggests that this money was misspent. Vaughn has pointed out that the plan developed by the federal agency (Environment Canada) did not include accountability for the provinces and territories in showing how they spent the money, and if the funding accomplished specific environmental goals.

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The projected emissions cut (80 megatonnes) he says, was based in a defective perspective. According to Vaughn’s audit: “The department conducted almost no analysis to support that figure … the little analysis it did undertake is based on flawed assumptions…”

If the number that was intended to be used as the measure of success was incorrect, then of course there would be no valid basis for saying the program was effective. Similarly, a public transit tax cut for the provinces totaling up to 635 million dollars was assigned an expectation of cutting 220,000 tons of greenhouse gases per year, but later had to be revised down to 35,000 tons.

Vaugn’s report states that the public transit plan won’t have much of an impact on reducing global warming. He summed up his analysis in this statement. “Canadians expect the government to tackle environmental degradation. The government needs to know what works, what doesn’t and why.”

To comply with the Kyoto Protocol, Canada had committed to reduce CO2 emissions by 6 percent per year below their 1990 levels from 2008-2012, but emissions have increased by 35 percent or more.

Image Credit: John Sullivan, Public Domain Photo

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