150 Megatonnes Reduction by 2020 of Canada’s Greenhouse Gases

The industrial targets, combined with all the other actions announced to date by Canada’s New Government and actions by the provinces, territories and individual Canadians to tackle climate change, will put us on the path to an absolute reduction of Canada’s greenhouse gases of 150 megatonnes by 2020. This represents an approximately 300 megatonnes reduction from projected 2020 levels.

The regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from major industrial sectors is expected to reduce emissions by 60 megatonnes from 2006 levels by 2020.

Other federal regulations, including fuel efficiency of cars and light trucks starting with the 2011 model year, energy efficiency standards for a number of energy-using products, a commitment to renewable fuel content in gasoline, diesel and heating oil, and requiring the use of best practices to reduce emissions from unintentional fugitive sources are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40 megatonnes from 2006 levels by 2020.

Federal initiatives in the energy and transportation sectors are expected to reduce emissions by 10 megatonnes from 2006 levels by 2020.  

• The recently announced ecoEnergy Initiatives will help Canadians use energy more efficiently, boost renewable energy supplies and develop cleaner energy technologies. This includes the ecoENERGY Retrofit program to help Canadians retrofit their homes, buildings and industrial processes.
• The ecoTransport Strategy will improve the efficiency of all modes of transportation in Canada. This includes the ecoAUTO Rebate Program to get between $1,000 and $2,000 for the purchase or long-term lease of a new fuel-efficient vehicle.

Aggressive new actions by provinces, territories and industry to deploy new technologies and improve energy efficiency will be supported by the $1.5 billion trust fund for clean air and climate change and the technology fund announced as part of the Regulatory Framework for Air Emissions. These projects and other actions provinces and territories take are expected to reduce emissions by 40 megatonnes from 2006 levels by 2020.

For more information on all the initiatives announced to date by Canada’s New Government to reduce greenhouse gases and tackle climate change, visit www.ecoaction.gc.ca or call 1 800 O-Canada (1 800 622-6232, or TTY 1-800-926-9105)