Environment groups call for swift climate policies ahead of fall Parliament session

OTTAWA – Environment groups are calling on the federal government to move swiftly on climate policies in the upcoming session of Parliament.

The calls are coming as the Liberal government sends unclear signals about greenhouse gas emission targets and rolls back a policy to get more electric vehicles on the road.

While the Canadian Climate Institute backs Prime Minister Mark Carney’s plan to focus on Canada’s “climate competitiveness” it wants Carney to follow through on climate policies from the Trudeau government.

Those include finalizing methane regulations for the oil and gas sector, and maintaining the electric vehicle sales mandate — which Carney recently delayed by a year and is reviewing to potentially change.

The institute also called on the government to maintain the emission reduction targets already set out — something Carney and his ministers have shied away from in recent days.

Carney is also facing pressures from inside his caucus on climate, as Liberal MPs recently formed a climate caucus to discuss environmental issues.