Former ministers say Dabrusin wrong on Paris targets

OTTAWA – Two former federal environment ministers are accusing Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin of lying when she says Canada remains committed to its Paris Agreement targets, the latest dispute over the country’s climate record at the COP31 conference in Antalya, Turkey.

Catherine McKenna, who is attending the conference, said in a post on X that the claim is “factually untrue.” She said Canada has “zero chance” of meeting its 2030 commitment and no path to net zero by 2050.

Steven Guilbeault, another former environment minister, told The Canadian Press from COP31 on Friday that Dabrusin’s claim “defies reason.” He said he always felt he needed to be genuine with Canadians, and called her position “disingenuous.”

Dabrusin told The Canadian Press before the trip that Canada is “absolutely committed” to the Paris targets, a line the government has kept up even as studies over the past 18 months say they are out of reach. Speaking at a news conference in Turkey on Saturday, she said other countries and civil society groups have praised Canada’s leadership.

Her press secretary, Amy Falkner, said in a statement that the government stands by the Paris Agreement and is committed to net-zero emissions by 2050, using what she called a pragmatic and durable approach.

The numbers explain the dispute. Canada promised under Stephen Harper to cut emissions to 30 per cent below 2005 levels, and the Trudeau government raised that to 40 to 45 per cent in 2021. According to the latest government figures, Canada had reduced emissions by only 10.3 per cent by 2024. By our calculation, that leaves a gap of roughly 30 to 35 percentage points to the current target, with six years to go.

Environment commissioner Jerry DeMarco reported last month that, after federal rollbacks, government projections point to a 28 per cent cut by 2030. He cited the cancelled consumer carbon price, the oil and gas emissions cap and the electric vehicle mandate, among other measures. Prime Minister Mark Carney said in June that emissions were likely to rise over the next few years.

The row follows our earlier reporting on Dabrusin’s defence of the record before COP31 and on Canada winning a “fossil of the day” award at the conference. Ottawa also said this week it will not appeal a ruling on the Impact Assessment Act.

Reporting by The Canadian Press, with the original story at thecanadianpressnews.ca.

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