The New Brunswick government is setting out new targets in its latest climate change plan, including net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and electric vehicles making up half of all light vehicles sold in the province eight years from now.
Jacques Poitras · Jacques Poitras · Posted: Sep 21, 2022 12:58 PM EDT | Last Updated: September 21, 2022
The New Brunswick government is setting out new targets in its latest climate change plan, including net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 and electric vehicles making up half of all light vehicles sold in the province eight years from now.
"The science is out there showing we need to take aggressive action," said Jeff Hoyt, the executive director of the province's climate change secretariat.
The plan also recommits the Blaine Higgs government to sticking with the federally imposed carbon pricing system that adds 11 cents per litre to the price of gas this year.
But the document released Wednesday has no new targets or measures aimed at industry, the largest emitting sector in the province.
"It is just not fair," said Louise Comeau, director of the Conservation Council of New Brunswick's climate change and energy solutions program.
"The key polluters in the province are not being asked to do their fair share. There's no doubt about it."
The plan says greenhouse gas emissions from industry make up 34 per cent of the province's total, the largest share.
Comeau said the provincial carbon price model needs to be tightened to give industry more of a financial incentive to reduce emissions but it's unclear whether the government plans to do that.
The Higgs Progressive Conservatives recently submitted a carbon-pricing proposal to Ottawa for 2023 and beyond. Under the federal climate plan, provinces are expected to adopt more stringent pricing systems starting next year.
The provincial pricing proposal has not been made public yet. The existing system has consumers pay a carbon tax at the pumps that rises every year, while industrial emitters pay based on whether they're reducing emissions relative to similar plants in their sector.
"Until we see the carbon pricing plan, we actually have no idea whether industry is being asked to do its fair share," Comeau said.
Despite those concerns, Comeau applauded the adoption of measurable goals, including regular, interim five-year targets, which she said will help the public monitor progress.
"I think what we see in this climate plan update is the guidance of the premier in terms of generating measurable targets that can be reported on each year, that are simplified in that they're clear," she said.
"This gets you into something that is concrete in terms of reductions."
The climate plan released Wednesday, which covers 2022 to 2027, says the government recognizes that "accelerated action is necessary to avoid the worst impacts of climate change," and that's why it's joining other jurisdictions in aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050.
But the report cautions getting there "will be challenging and requires strong and continued action."
Net-zero doesn't mean no emissions. It means the amount of carbon dioxide being emitted is offset by the removal of the same amount from the atmosphere.
"It is a bold target. It's where we need to go," Hoyt said. "Do we know exactly how we're going to get there right now? No, and that's part of what needs to be mapped out through the blueprint exercise" called for in the plan.
That could include measuring how much carbon is absorbed naturally by wetlands and forests.
Each section of the report lays out existing policies that the government will continue to apply as well as new actions — except for the section on industry, which does not include any new actions.
The report says the province will continue to support energy efficiency programs, require industry reporting on emissions and administering the output-based carbon price for large emitters.
Hoyt said those existing policies will "drive" industrial reductions so new measures weren't needed.
The plan repeats the Higgs government's long-standing caveat that the pricing system has to recognize that large industrial plants in Canada compete against counterparts elsewhere that don't have the added cost of a carbon tax on their bottom line.
"Significantly decarbonizing industry is essential to meeting our targets, addressing the impacts of climate change, and helping our companies to remain competitive in export markets," it says.
After industry, transportation — including the cars or light trucks most people drive — is the second largest source of emissions in the province at 26 per cent.
The new plan says the government will "work to have" six per cent of new light-duty vehicle sales be electric vehicles by 2025, with the goal of 50 per cent by 2030.
"New Brunswick will achieve the most significant reductions by reducing our reliance on personal vehicles, continuing to support the adoption of electric vehicles, and using alternative forms of transportation," it says.
The plan also says the province will develop a clean electricity strategy by 2025 that will include achieving net-zero electricity emissions by 2035, matching the federal goal.
It will also set new electricity efficiency performance targets and reporting requirements for N.B. Power.
Electricity generation is the third-largest source of emissions in the province at 23 per cent.
The plan also proposes to measure how much carbon dioxide the province's forests absorb, incorporate climate change into the provincial Community Planning Act, and prepare for more extreme weather including floods, wildfires and drought.
Provincial Affairs reporter
Jacques Poitras has been CBC's provincial affairs reporter in New Brunswick since 2000. He grew up in Moncton and covered Parliament in Ottawa for the New Brunswick Telegraph-Journal. He has reported on every New Brunswick election since 1995 and won awards from the Radio Television Digital News Association, the National Newspaper Awards and Amnesty International. He is also the author of five non-fiction books about New Brunswick politics and history.
