Electric Mobility Canada applauds the Canadian government’s Climate Plan for taking several steps in the right direction

December 11, 2020 – On this 5th anniversary of the Paris Accord on Climate Change, the Government of Canada has announced that it intends to take several steps in the right direction to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, including a range of clean transportation announcements.

“The Government of Canada is taking more than one step in the right direction, it is taking several steps in the right direction. This is encouraging for the future of our environment, the health of Canadians and the jobs of the future in electrification of transport sector. Electric Mobility Canada and its members will be there to support the government in this important and exciting task.”

– Daniel Breton, President and Chief Executive Officer, Electric Mobility Canada

The government has just unveiled important commitments. Below are excerpts from https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2020/12/a-healthy-environment-and-a-healthy-economy.html

  1. Invest an additional $287 million over two years to continue theIncentives for Zero-Emission Vehicles (iZEV) program until March 2022. The program provides a rebate of up to $5000 on a light-duty zero-emission vehicle.
  2. Invest an additional $150 million over three years in charging and refueling stations across Canada, as announced in the 2020 Fall Economic Statement.
  3. Work with partners in the year ahead on supply-side policy options to achieve additional reductions from Canada’s light-duty vehicle fleet, including regulations and investments to accelerate and expand the consumer availability of ZEVs in Canada as demand grows.
  4. Build on historic investments in public transit in the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to develop next steps on public transit, including the government’s plan to help electrify public transit systems, and provide permanent public transit funding.
  5. Engage the incoming United States Administration on approaches to increase the consumer availability of zero-emission vehicles in both countries, given the integrated nature of the North American auto sector.
  6. Work to align Canada’s Light-Duty Vehicle regulations with the most stringent performance standards in North America post-2025, whether at the United States federal or state level.
  7. Develop a national active transportation strategy, and explore ways to deliver more active transportation options, such as walking trails, cycling paths and other forms of active mobility, which are a complementary tool that can reduce reliance on cars and provide healthy transportation alternatives.
  8. Include the 100-percent tax write off for commercial light-duty, medium- and heavy-duty ZEVs.
  9. Implement Canada’s Off-road Compression-Ignition (Mobile and Stationary) and Large Spark-Ignition Engine Emission Regulations to make new equipment and machines used by Canadians less polluting and more fuel-efficient.
  10. Further improve the efficiency of heavy-duty vehicles standards for post-2025 by aligning with the most stringent standards in North America—whether at the United States federal or state level.

And to make clean, affordable electricity options more available, the government will:

  • Invest an additional $964 million over four years to advance smart renewable energy and grid modernization projects.
  • Invest an additional $300 million over five years to advance the government’s commitment to ensure rural, remote and Indigenous communities that currently rely on diesel have the opportunity to be powered by clean, reliable energy by 2030.
  • Work with provinces and territories to connect parts of Canada that have abundant clean hydroelectricity with parts that are currently more dependent on fossil fuels for electricity generation—including by advancing strategic intertie projects, such as the Atlantic Loop and other regional initiatives. The Canada Infrastructure Bank has earmarked $2.5 billion as part of its $10 billion Growth Plan. The government will invest an additional $25 million to support predevelopment work.
  • Work with provinces, utilities and other partners to ensure that Canada’s electricity generation achieves net-zero emissions before 2050.
  • Continue to put a price on pollution through to 2030, rising at $15 per tonne after 2022, while returning the proceeds back to households such that the majority receive more money back than they pay in provinces where the federal system applies.
  • Move from carbon pollution pricing rebate payments being distributed on an annual basis to quarterly, starting as early as 2022.
  • Explore the potential of border carbon adjustments, and work with like-minded economies—including the E.U. and Canada’s North American partners—to consider how this approach could fit into Canada’s broader strategy to meet climate targets while ensuring a fair environment for businesses.

Building Canada’s Clean Industrial Advantage

In the years ahead, Canada’s industrial advantage and the jobs that will come from it will depend on the speed and success of decarbonisation efforts. In order to achieve the country’s full potential, the government must assist Canadian companies as they seek to meet the demands of domestic and global consumers for low-carbon goods and services, and make investments that can drive Canada’s low-carbon economy.

That is why the government will:

  • Launch a Net-Zero Challenge for large emitters to support Canadian industries in developing and implementing plans to transition their facilities to net-zero emissions by 2050.
  • Make investments to support decarbonization and drive the immediate creation of well-paying, resilient jobs, in complement to the Challenge. This would involve the Strategic Innovation Fund’s Net-Zero Accelerator Fund, through an investment of $3 billion over five years. The fund will rapidly expedite decarbonization projects with large emitters, scale-up clean technology and accelerate Canada’s industrial transformation across all sectors.
  • Continue to support Sustainable Development Technology Canada with an additional $750 million over five years. This would support startups and scale-up companies to enable pre-commercial clean technologies to successfully demonstrate feasibility as well as support early commercialization efforts.

Full details here: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2020/12/a-healthy-environment-and-a-healthy-economy.html