NDP Party Climate Change Platform

[N.B.: The NDP supported Bill C-12 and successfully advocated for limited amendments to it before it was enacted as the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. Whereas the first emissions reduction “target” in Bill C-12 as originally proposed was for 2030, the NDP was instrumental in obtaining a requirement for an emissions reduction “objective” for 2026. It also played a role in obtaining some other improvements.]

The NDP would:

Establish “carbon budgets” to cover a number of years and to cover various sectors of the economy. [N.B.: The verbatim passage in the NDP platform is “We will work with partners to establish multi-year national and sectoral carbon budgets as a key guiding framework to develop Canada’s path to 2030 and beyond.” The “national” reference appears to mean that a “carbon budget” would be the total quantity of GHGs that Canada would be permitted to emit over a certain period of years. As such, it would replace the “target” for a specific year in the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. This would make that legislation operate more like similar legislation in the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The “sectoral” reference appears to mean that the NDP would impose budgets on specific sectors, such as limits on emissions from buildings, light duty vehicles, the cement industry, etc.]
Create a Climate Accountability Office to provide independent oversight of federal climate progress, to engage the public, and to make recommendations on how to achieve Canada’s goals. [N.B.: This could conceivably be action to strengthen the “Net Zero Advisory Body” created by the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act. As such it would address an issue debated during the passage of that act.]
Continue the present carbon pricing (also referred to as the “carbon tax”) scheme, while “making it fairer and rolling back loopholes…given to big polluters”. [N.B.: Some people who have analyzed the NDP platorm, particularly the climate change economist Mark Jaccard in a 3 September 2021 article in the online magazine Policy Options, have interpreted this as meaning that the NDP would require all industry to pay the full, increasing, carbon tax on 100% of their emissions, rather than permitting them to not pay the carbon tax on between 80% and 95% of their emissions, as is currently the case. On 15 September 2021, the NDP Candidate for Ottawa Centre clarified to us that the NDP’s platform was to amend the OBPS so that all industries covered by it do not pay on 70% of their emissions, instead of not paying on between 80% and 95% under the current system).]
Review financial legislation, such as the Bank of Canada Act, the Export Development Canada Act, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act, “to ensure federal financial levers and Crown corporations are aligned with the goal of net-zero.”
Create rules to prevent big companies from using the purchase of carbon offsets as a way “to escape their net-zero obligations”. [N.B.: “Carbon offsets” refer to a scheme whereby one company can continue emitting more GHGs than would otherwise be permitted if it pays money to another company or individual to do something that would reduce GHG emissions. Markets can be formed for the purchase and sale of these “offsets”. There is considerable debate about whether offsets help or hinder the overall goal of GHG emission reductions.]
Eliminate “fossil fuel subsidies” and make legislation to ban any future oil, gas, and pipeline subsidies. [N.B.: “Fossil fuel subsidies” are generally considered to be government money given to fossil fuel companies, as well as favourable tax treatment given to such companies. There is considerable disagreement about the details of whether any given action or plan constitutes a “fossil fuel subsidy”.]
Work with the provinces and territories on methane reduction.
Make purchases (“procure”) from Canadian companies producing clean technology.
Create Border Carbon Adjustments. [N.B.: BCAs are like tariffs on imports from countries that do not have climate change policies as stringent as Canada’s. For example, if Canadian steel is produced with less GHG emissions than Chinese steel but, because of that, Chinese steel is cheaper, BCAs would increase the cost of Chinese steel imports coming into Canada, so that Canada’s steel is competitive. Alternatively, if a Canadian steel manufacturer is exporting steel to China, it could be given a sum of money to compensate for the fact that it can only sell its steel in China for less money because Chinese steelmakers did not need pay any carbon tax in China. The first industries that could benefit from BCAs include steel, cement, and aluminum. Conceivably, once BCAs are in place, the “carbon tax” on these emissions could be made more stringent, so that something less than the current 80 to 95% of emissions would be “tax free”.]
Appoint a Climate Emergency Committee of Cabinet and establish a Climate Emergency Secretariat in the Prime Minister’s Office.
Modernize and expand public transit within and between communities, ensuring that it is low carbon transit.
Develop a public inter-city bus system to help replace the loss of Greyhound routes.
Support creating high-frequency rail along the Quebec-Windsor corridor and expand rail service options in other regions.
Increase ZEV purchases by waiving federal sales tax on ZEV purchases and providing grants of up to $15,000 to purchase ZEVs.
Build electric charging infrastructure.
Help people purchasing new or used ZEVs cover the cost of installing a plug-in charger.
Create a centre of excellence for research and development of ZEVs and related technologies, such as hydrogen, batteries, and energy storage.
Consider ways to strengthen the low-carbon fuel standard.
Set a target for net-zero electricity throughout Canada by 2030 and move to 100% non-emitting electricity by 2040.
Create a Canadian Climate Bank that will, among other things, provide support for interested provinces to inter-connect power grids and introduce smart grid technology.
Support investments in community-owned and operated clean energy projects.
Help Indigenous and northern communities move off diesel power.
Require large scale building retrofits in all sectors and set a target of retrofitting all buildings in Canada by 2050.
Improve the National Building Code to ensure that by 2025 every new building built in Canada is net-zero.
“We have a plan to create over a million new good jobs in all communities…while helping to make the changes we need to succeed in a low carbon future.” [N.B.: This is quoted verbatim from the NDP platform because nothing further is stated about what that plan is except “jobs building green infrastructure” and requiring “the use of Canadian-made steel, aluminum, cement and wood products for infrastructure projects”.]
For those who lose their jobs [N.B.: presumably due to climate change of GHG reductions, although this is not stated], provide access to expanded Employment Insurance Benefits, re-training and job placement service. Ensure companies retain and redeploy their workers in transition and ensure that workers nearing retirement do not have penalties to their pensions if they retire early.
Boost clean tech research and manufacturing with new funding, incentives and Buy Canadian procurement of environmentally friendly technologies.
Support sustainable agriculture by promoting sustainable land-management techniques and methods to reduce GHG emissions.
The NDP target is a reduction of 50% of GHG emissions from the 2005 level.