The Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change is an extensive document that has been developed by the Canadian government in association with the ten provinces to lay out a mitigation strategy as well as a pathway towards a clean economy. The plan details a number of national orientations over 1) the objective of meeting, or exceed, Canada's 2030 target of a 30 percent reduction below 2005 levels of greenhouse gases emissions, 2) adaptation, 3) and mentions province-wide projects happening in different provinces, such as the "community-based energy generation" scheme of New Brunswick or the efforts towards electrification of transport in Quebec. Specific policies include:
- carbon pricing, with a federal benchmark calling a price starting at $10/tonne in 2018 and a $10/year increase until it reaches $50/tonne in 2022.
- efforts to support clean technologies at early stage and their implementation at industrial scale. The plan seeks an increase of renewables in the electricity mix (currently at 80 %), a reduction in the reliance on diesel in local communities power generation, energy efficiency in new buildings and retrofitting. The objectives of mitigation and adaptation are meant to be combined with jobs creation and economic growth.
- Increased stored carbon in forests, use of wood for construction, bioenergy and bio products.
- Adaptation - focusing on vulnerable regions and especially the Arctic, to translate scientific information and traditional knowledge into action, building regional adaptation capacity expertise, resilient infrastructure and standards, address climate-related health risks, support communities and respecting the rights of Indigenous people.
- Federal and province level yearly reporting on greenhouse emissions, to determine whether the country's progression is in line with the set out pathway of greenhouse gases emissions reductions by 2030.
The updated benchmark replaces the 2018-2022 benchmark and associated guidance and will apply for the 2023-2030 period. Canada’s minimum national price on carbon pollution for explicit price-based systems (i.e., systems that directly set a price on emissions) is $65 per tonne of GHG emissionsFootnote3 calculated in carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2023, and increases by $15 per year to $170 per tonne CO2e in 2030.
