Canada needs to slash carbon emissions by half by 2035

Climate experts say Canada needs to cut down its carbon emissions almost 50 percent by 2035. The Net Zero Advisory body is calling on the government to ramp up its operations and slash global warming causing greenhouse gases by up to 55 percent below 2005 levels by the year 2035.

The current goal of the Canadian federal government is to cut up to 45 percent by 2030. The advice comes at a time when the government is preparing to set a new legally binding climate target for 2035 under the Net Zero Emission Accountability Act.  

The advisory body said it is setting targets as high as 60 percent but settled on a range of 50 to 55 percent. The obligations are under the landmark 2015 International Paris Agreement climate pact.

The agreement states that countries must keep the increase in the planet’s temperature to 2 degree celsius and work to keep it below 1.5 degree celsius. The United Nations has said the world is still on track to surpass the limits outlined in the Paris Agreement leading to more devastating floods, heat waves, and forest fires. 

Countries like the United Kingdom, France, and New Zealand have quantified the amount of greenhouse gases they emit as per the rules of the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Carbon Budgeting

The experts and scientists panel has stated in the report that Canada is one of the highest emitters of greenhouse gases consisting mainly of carbon dioxide. For this reason, the report states, “Like a household budget, a carbon budget can ensure we only spend what we can afford by tracking the emissions expenses and allocating them based on the remaining greenhouse emissions in the budget.”