Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, responded to the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) tabling of new reports.
The Commissioner's latest reports reviewed federal programs and policies for the 2019 to October 2022 time period to ensure they were achieving their stated objectives. The reports contain a series of findings and recommendations that are primarily directed at the Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan). ECCC and NRCan are already taking steps that address a number of the Commissioner's recommendations and are committed to undertaking new measures to continue improving program delivery in line with the Commissioner's observations.
It is important to note that last week Canada submitted its National Inventory Report (NIR) of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) between 1990 and 2021. Canada's emissions were 53 million tonnes lower in 2021 than in 2019 pre-pandemic levels, and among all the G7 countries, Canada's emissions bounced back the least following the 2020 COVID crisis. Canada has been able to cut emissions while growing the economy, demonstrating that Canada's plan to reduce emissions while creating good-paying jobs is working. And regulatory measures continue to play an important role in Canada's success.
ECCC works continuously to improve its methodology and emissions tracking and welcomes the Commissioner's recommendations, which support ongoing ECCC work currently well underway.
Canadians are providing some of the world's cutting-edge technology in emissions tracking and detection. The Government of Canada invests in and champions this technology. Canada's GHG reporting is based on the best available data and science and is aligned with international best practices. In line with the Commissioner's recommendations, ECCC has been making improvements to the methodologies used in the NIR. For example, the 2023 report includes improvements to quantifying and reporting on methane emissions data. This is a big focus of the NIR and we can expect to see further improvements in next year's report. The CESD audit will help to inform these revisions.
In addition to climate change, the world is facing an unprecedented biodiversity loss. The Government of Canada continues to invest in the biggest ongoing effort to protect and conserve Canada's lands and waters in the country's history.
The Government's commitment to plant two billion trees in the next decade is a crucial part of Canada's climate plan. In the last six months alone, NRCan has signed six Contribution Agreements with provinces and territories to plant trees as part of the program, and over 50 additional agreements with other partners. The Government is making significant progress and remains confident it will plant two billion trees and reduce emissions through the program in the next decade.
During the first year of the program, the 2021 planting season, the Government supported the planting of some 29M trees, fully allocating the funding available for the year.
The first year was instrumental in understanding the needs, concerns, and benefits of the program. Through it, we heard from existing and prospective partners about the need to provide greater clarity on the program's objectives and monitoring requirements, so that applicants can meaningfully participate.
The Government also established an external advisory committee of experts on nature-based climate solutions to provide advice on program delivery to maximize emissions reductions, and on its potential biodiversity and human well-being co-benefits. Using the lessons learned from the first year of the program together with ongoing advice received from experts, we have been taking steps - many of which are in line with the Commissioner's recommendations - to adjust the program design to ensure its long-term success.
The seven Agreements in Principle (AiPs) with British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and the Yukon, as well as six initial contribution agreements with provinces and territories that were finalized in the last six months, represent a significant first step and serve as a strong foundation for future agreements and discussions with provinces and territories. This includes Minister Wilkinson's forthcoming meeting with his provincial and territorial counterparts in May 2023.
Relatedly, and in line with the Commissioner's recommendation, ECCC, NRCan, and other responsible departments and stakeholders are already conducting a review of Canada's Land Use, Land-use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) accounting emissions approach, including the reference-level approach used to account for emissions and removals from the managed forests and harvested wood products. Working with ECCC, NRCan began work on this review in 2022 and started engagement with stakeholders on this review in March 2023.
While we continually review our science and modelling tools, with the implementation of planned improvements, we remain confident that a mature 2 Billion Trees program will reduce emissions and meaningfully contribute to Canada's 2030 and 2050 climate targets.
The protection of species and environmental stewardship is a shared responsibility among the provinces, territories, Indigenous peoples, stakeholders, and the federal government. Under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), the safety net and emergency order provisions are measures of last resort. They are not the only tools to provide for species recovery. Canada is committed to the protection and recovery of species at risk across the country in collaboration with partners, and to fulfilling its obligations under SARA.
