Canada will not meet its 2020 emissions targets

Canada is set to fail to meet its 2020 emissions targets, it has been announced. The country admitted on Thursday (October 24th) that the margin it will be missing the targets by is larger than was originally anticipated. A report by the environment ministry said that more must be done to offset the emissions created by the oil and gas industry if this margin is to reduced.

Despite the fact that the country is failing to adequately reduce emissions within the oil and gas industry, Stephen Harper, conservative prime minister, is continuing to push for the development of the Keystone XL pipeline. Many critics of this project have argued that the implementation of the pipeline will cause the expansion of oil sands projects, which is one of the largest causes of greenhouse gas emissions in the country.

Canada had previously agreed, by signing the Copenhagen Accord in 2009, to cut down on its emissions by 2020. The target was set at reducing emissions to 17 per cent less than 2005's levels by this year. According to the report, it is estimated that 2020 levels will be around 122 megatonnes higher than the target amount, resulting in a release of around 734 megatonnes for the year.

Despite the high margin that targets are likely to be missed by, Leona Aglukkaq, environment minister, has said that progress has been made since 2005. She said that the report highlights that work has been done to curb emissions and that they would be around 128 megatonnes higher by 2020 if policies and technology had not been implemented. 

President Obama has indicated that in order for Canada to receive US approval for the implementation of the Keystone XL pipeline, more must first be done to reduce emissions. The US undertook the same commitment to reduce emissions as Canada and has made moves that have seen them fall dramatically in recent years. According to the administration, the US is on track to meeting the 2020 targets.