Welcome to Net Zero, your daily letter to the sector about clean energy and Canadian resources policy.

This new target was approved at the United Nations in June.

Ahead of the meeting the Liberal government has increased its target on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from 30% of global average levels by 2021 to a range of between 40% and 45% from 2005 levels by 2030.

When Canada signed the Paris Agreement in 2015, it adopted the previous Conservative Administration’s goal of cut emissions by 30% below 2005 levels by 2030.

“It would be contrary to all the expectations attached to being in the Paris Agreement.”Jutta Brunnée

This would run counter to all the expectations associated with the Paris Agreement, said Jutta Brunnée, a law professor at the University of Toronto.

The targets that countries commit to under the Paris treaty are voluntary and there will be no binding impact for countries that change their objectives beyond affecting themselves internationally.

The Winnipeg Free Press has more on this narrative.

The Conservative Party’s carbon price would rise, over time, to a maximum of $50 per ton, and the money would be directed towards personalized savings accounts for Canadians to go green.


Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement , often referred to as the Paris Accords or the Paris Climate Accords, is an international treaty on climate change, adopted in 2015. It covers climate change mitigation, (wikipedia)


Erin O’Toole

Erin Michael O’Toole is a Canadian politician serving as Leader of the Official Opposition of Canada and the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada since August 24, 2020. (wikipedia)

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Headquarters of the United Nations

The United Nations is headquartered in New York City in a complex designed by a board of architects led by Wallace Harrison and built by the architectural firm Harrison & Abramovitz. (wikipedia)


United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea , also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, (wikipedia)


Stephen Harper

Stephen Joseph Harper is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper won three mandates during his nearly decade-long tenure, (wikipedia)


Presidency of Joe Biden

Joe Biden was inaugurated as the 46th president of the United States at noon EST on January 20, 2021. A Democrat from Delaware, he took office following the 2020 presidential election, (wikipedia)


Presidential transition of Joe Biden

In the United States, the presidential transition refers to the process by which a president-elect prepares to take over administration of the government, (wikipedia)