Evidence of meeting #81 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 42nd Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was adaptation.
A video is available from Parliament.
Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Office of the Auditor General
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
It was good to have you here today so that we could dig in a bit deeper. We're looking forward to having you back again as we do FSDA.
I'll suspend to bring up the department.
Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Office of the Auditor General
Thank you very much.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
Order. I want to welcome everyone.
We have quite a suite of witnesses in front of us. I'm going to do a quick introduction.
We have less than an hour, so we want to keep your comments really down tight. We ask you to keep them under five minutes so that we can get to the questioning, because the questioning is where everybody really wants to go. We're looking at some long comments here, and if I could ask you to keep them short so that we can get to the questions, that would be great. I think everybody has copies of the comments.
I'll introduce everyone.
From the Department of the Environment, we have with us Matt Jones, assistant deputy minister, pan-Canadian framework implementation office, and Laniel Bateman, acting executive director, policy development.
Welcome.
From the Department of Fisheries and Oceans we have Keith Lennon, director, oceans science branch. From the Department of Industry we have Colette Downie, assistant deputy minister and chief financial officer, and Christopher Johnstone, director general, science and research sector.
From the Department of Natural Resources, we have Amanda Wilson, director general, office of energy research and development, innovation and energy technology sector—wow, that's a big business card—and Marc Wickham, director, energy science and technology programs, office of energy research and development, innovation and energy technology sector.
Welcome.
From the Department of Public Works and Government Services, we have Simon Dubé, director general of strategic policy and planning, and Veronica Silva, director general, service lead, technical services, real property services.
Welcome.
We also have, from the Department of Transport, Ellen Burack, director general for environmental policy.
Thanks to all of you for joining us today. We appreciate your time. We're looking forward to your statements and then getting a chance to get to questions. I think we have Environment and Climate Change Canada up first.
We'll give the floor to you.
Matt Jones Assistant Deputy Minister, Pan-Canadian Framework Implementation Office, Department of the Environment
Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
Thank you for the opportunity to be here. I'm very pleased to be here to speak about our progress on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and our approach to addressing climate change. This is certainly something that's important to talk about, as it is a top priority for the department and for governments across Canada, as was demonstrated by first ministers when they met in Vancouver and developed the Vancouver declaration.
The first ministers, at that time, agreed to meet or exceed Canada's 2030 target and increase the level of ambition over time to drive greater emission reductions, as required by the Paris agreement, and to develop a pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change. For the first time there was agreement across all levels of federal, provincial, and territorial governments on an emission reduction target and the need to develop a plan to achieve it.
The declaration also committed governments to the development of working groups to identify options in key areas that we'll be talking about today: clean technology and clean growth, carbon pricing and other mitigation opportunities, and adaptation and resilience, a key topic for today. That menu of options was the first key step leading to the pan-Canadian framework.
Additionally, indigenous peoples were consulted to help shape the development of options and identify opportunities to strengthen collaboration. An extensive engagement process was undertaken to hear directly from Canadians in this process as well.
All of this work culminated, as I think people are aware, in the development of the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change. This was adopted at the first ministers' meeting last December. The anniversary is coming up. It has a suite of policies across those four pillars that I mentioned: clean growth, carbon pricing, mitigation, and adaptation.
The process there was the Vancouver declaration, which launched a process to develop a menu of options, and then an extensive process to analyze, evaluate, and seek approval and agreement on those options in the form of the pan-Canadian framework. We have now turned to implementing that framework. It is also linked to and supported by a number of other federal funding initiatives, specifically around infrastructure.
At Environment and Climate Change Canada, we've been working extremely hard in the development of this credible, actionable climate plan, and in the implementation of that plan. Since the December 1 ministers' meetings, we have worked extremely closely with our partner departments, with provinces and territories, with indigenous peoples, and with stakeholders to implement the PCF and facilitate this transition to the low-carbon economy. The department has been working with provinces and territories to identify projects that could be funded under the low-carbon economy fund, and we are currently developing legislation and regulations to enact both carbon pricing and other mitigation opportunities.
In considering the conclusions from this audit, it's important to consider the time period covered with respect to mitigation. As discussed, the most recent date available is from 2015, and significant actions have been taken in support of the development and implementation of the pan-Canadian framework that are just happening now.
In terms of reporting, we do report on historical emissions and update our emissions projections annually, and I'm sure we'll talk more about that.
The audit did acknowledge the extensive collaboration with provinces and territories to develop this plan, and we look forward to speaking more about this in the future, as was discussed with the commissioner, as we implement the plan and see the results of those efforts.
The recommendations from the report have been covered. There are two related to reporting, one related to emissions projections, and one related to the 2020 target. We've accepted those recommendations and we've already taken action in a number of areas, including working collaboratively on results with provinces and territories.
In terms of reporting, in addition to the three regular reports that we provide to the United Nations, we've also committed to report back to first ministers on our progress in implementing the pan-Canadian framework. We are on track to produce that report this year.
We are also taking action on clean growth and climate change as a core responsibility in our departmental results framework, and our departmental results reports will focus on these results.
It will require significant action and effort over the long term. We have a lot of work left to do in order to drive down emissions and we look forward to speaking with you more on this topic.
With that, I'll turn to my colleague to speak on the adaptation of it.
Laniel Bateman Acting Executive Director, Policy Development, Department of the Environment
Thank you.
Thank you for the opportunity to discuss our response to the findings in “Report 2—Adapting to the Impacts of Cimate Change” in the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development's fall 2017 reports. My colleague has already covered some of the broader context of the government's action on the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change, and I will be speaking on behalf of Environment and Climate Change Canada on the adaptation audit.
The adaptation audit looked at the 2010-2017 time period and focused on the extent to which federal organizations have made progress to adapt to climate change. It examined federal leadership efforts and assessed whether departments and agencies had implemented the federal adaptation policy framework. While the audit deemed that some departments and agencies took action, it identified that more work is needed.
As important context, I would like to take the opportunity to clarify what the audit covered.
The audit did not examine national progress on adaptation or federal adaptation programs, but focused on whether the government departments and agencies had properly assessed climate risks. To respond to the audit findings, the Government of Canada will continue to implement the pan-Canadian framework. This is the government's plan, in partnership with provinces, territories, and indigenous peoples, to grow the economy while reducing emissions and building resilience to a change in climate. Through the pan-Canadian framework, the federal government has identified priority actions to respond to climate change impacts on federal areas of responsibility; outlined roles, responsibilities, and accountabilities; and developed a process to report on the program.
Important investments are being made to advance adaptation efforts in Canada. These include unprecedented federal investments in things such as the $2-billion disaster mitigation and adaptation fund. Budget 2017 allocated $260 million over five years to implement the federal pan-Canadian framework commitments on adaptation and climate resilience, including the creation of a Canadian centre for climate services, which will improve access to climate-related science and information; responding to the health risks associated with climate change; integrating indigenous knowledge in guiding adaptation measures, notably in flood-prone indigenous communities; continuing to build resilience in vulnerable coastal regions; and assessing and adapting transportation infrastructure.
The Government of Canada will also take action to improve climate risk assessment processes and adaptation planning. Departments and agencies will assess climate risks in their areas of responsibility, and Environment and Climate Change Canada, with central agencies, will provide guidance and support information sharing to increase federal awareness of climate risks and opportunities.
Environment and Climate Change Canada is continuing to undertake a department-wide climate risk assessment process to determine the vulnerabilities of departmental assets, major regulatory activities, and key services, and to develop a subsequent adaptation plan for the department.
In summary, climate change is a government priority. These actions will ensure that departments are prepared to address climate risks. Government-wide efforts will help Canadians understand how they may be affected by climate change and help them make the best decisions to protect their homes, businesses, health, and communities.
Merci.
I will turn now to my colleagues in other departments to speak to the adaptation audit.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
Thank you very much.
Mr. Lennon, if you wouldn't mind, go ahead for just a few minutes; otherwise we'll not be able to hear from everyone.
Keith Lennon Director, Oceans Science Branch, Department of Fisheries and Oceans
Thank you, Madam Chair.
I wish to begin by thanking you for providing me with the opportunity to discuss the important work done by scientists at Fisheries and Oceans Canada to better understand, predict, and adapt to the impacts of climate change on aquatic environments.
As you are aware, climate change poses a serious risk to the sustainability of Canada's vulnerable marine ecosystems, fisheries, and coastal communities. The impacts of climate change are growing and are creating a sustained need for scientific expertise.
Climate change is a critical global issue that threatens the sustainable use of the earth's oceans by future generations. It's expected that Canada's oceans will become warmer, fresher, more acidic, and less oxygenated as a result of climate change.
Changing ocean conditions are impacting the distribution, productivity, and overall health of many of our living resources, including key fishery species. Increasing ocean temperatures and declining sea ice are causing sea levels to rise and storms to become more frequent and severe, threatening coastal communities.
To better understand the risks, vulnerabilities, and impacts created by climate change, DFO established the aquatic climate change adaptation services program in 2005. Recent investments have set the stage for continued delivery of this important program in support of the pan-Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change and will allow our scientists at Fisheries and Oceans to continue to undertake monitoring activities and research activities to better understand the current state and to predict the future state of Canada's oceans. DFO scientists will be able to conduct vulnerability assessments of fisheries and small craft harbours to identify what resources may be most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. They will also be able to continually refine oceanographic models to predict future conditions, such as water temperatures, ocean chemistry, and currents.
The scientific knowledge and expertise that is assembled through the aquatic climate change adaptation services program provides the evidence base necessary to advance the incorporation of climate change considerations into operational decision-making at Fisheries and Oceans.
DFO is committed to better understanding, predicting, and adapting to the impacts that climate change will have on Canada's three oceans, their living resources, and the coastal communities that rely on them for their livelihoods. On behalf of DFO, we look forward to continuing to provide high-quality, credible climate change science advice that will be of benefit to Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
Again, I'd like to thank you very much for allowing me to join you here today. I look forward to our discussion.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
Thank you very much.
I appreciate everybody's being mindful of the time and speeding things up. Thank you.
Go ahead, Ms. Downie.
Colette Downie Assistant Deputy Minister/Chief Financial Officer, Department of Industry
Hello. My name is Colette Downie, and I work at Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.
Thank you to the committee for the opportunity to appear today to address findings of the Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change report. I would also like to thank the commissioner, Julie Gelfand, and her team for preparing an in-depth examination of the federal government's progress in adapting to the risks associated with climate change.
ISED recognizes the importance of being adaptable to climate change impacts and ensuring the department can continue to carry out its activities and support Canadians despite adverse affects of climate change.
We agree with the commissioner's findings. We've already taken action to improve our internal processes so that the department is better positioned to make informed, forward-looking decisions to manage risks related to climate change.
After considering the commissioner's advice, ISED views that the best way to swiftly implement her recommendations is to improve the department's existing processes to identify, assess, prioritize, and address climate change risks. In particular, we're making changes to our integrated risk management processes. These include a renewed focus on identifying key risks at the sector level to ensure that the risk profile for the department presents a comprehensive picture of our risks.
Any new processes that we introduce as part of these changes will include references explicitly to climate change impacts to ensure that they're one of the factors considered when risks are identified. We are also committed to collaborating with Treasury Board and Environment and Climate Change Canada on guidance for assessing climate change risk.
As I mentioned, we've already started to make progress on our risk management processes. Starting in January 2017, during risk discussions at senior-level management committees, organizations within the department were explicitly asked whether climate change effects were having negative impacts on their business and whether any specific climate change risks could be identified. I'd like to underline that since January, there have been discussions on this topic at senior governance committees, including with deputy ministers and associate deputy ministers in October.
We also noted that other departments, such as Fisheries and Oceans, Natural Resources Canada, and Transport Canada, in addition to looking at risk, also considered how climate change impacts could affect policy development and program delivery. With this in mind, we're going to do the same thing. We're going to analyze climate change impacts to see how they'll affect our delivery, our policy development, our infrastructure assets, our program beneficiaries, and other stakeholders.
We understand that sound and reliable science will be key as we move forward to implement the commissioner's recommendations, and that the current and planned climate change research being undertaken and supported across the government will be invaluable to our work.
Thank you again for the invitation to appear.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
Thank you very much.
I apologize for rushing everybody. When I put up the red card, it means I really need you to wrap it up. We're never going to get a chance to ask questions if we don't speed through this.
I'd appreciate that. We have your written statements.
Go ahead, Mr. Dubé.
Simon Dubé Director General, Strategic Policy and Planning, Department of Public Works and Government Services
Madam Chair, I am pleased to be with you and members of the committee to discuss the measures Public Services and Procurement Canada, or PSPC, has in place to manage climate change risks. I am joined by Veronica Silva, director general of Technical Services in our Real Property Services.
Our department acts as the government's central purchasing agent, linguistic authority, and accountant on behalf of government departments. It also manages its real property portfolio and offers property management services to other departments. As such, climate change adaptation is recognized as a key consideration to ensure our continued ability to deliver programs and services to the Government of Canada and Canadians.
One of our core responsibilities is property and infrastructure as we manage our federal buildings nationally. We recognize that climate change is having impacts on our assets that are felt in areas such as eroding shorelines or loss of permafrost.
As we undertake construction or restoration projects, Public Services and Procurement Canada is taking into account changing climate, vulnerability, and adaptation measures. The department has taken initial steps to address climate change risks. For example, we are working to improve the resiliency of our assets by incorporating new data and research into our building designs to address anticipated changes to climate conditions, and we're conducting assessments of possible vulnerabilities for our facilities and accounting for risks such as rising sea levels.
Climate change is one of the drivers of the “critical systems emergencies” key risk noted in the departmental plan that was tabled in Parliament in March 2017.
In response to this audit, we will undertake a department-wide climate change risk assessment that will better inform integrated risk management at the corporate level. It will also inform future program and operation activities within our branches and regions.
We will collaborate with other departments to develop a common climate forecast model. We will also identify and implement adaptation measures for selected assets or operations based on that climate forecast model.
Our department agreed to the commissioner's recommendation and we will identify, assess, prioritize, and address climate change risks as they relate to the department's area of responsibility. Those will be incorporated more systematically in corporate risk management practices and documents. We are confident that this work will support our progress in that direction.
Thank you.
Ellen Burack Director General, Environmental Policy, Department of Transport
Madam Chair, thank you for the opportunity to appear before the committee today as you consider the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development's “Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change” audit findings, as they relate to Transport Canada.
Impacts associated with a changing climate and extreme weather are already damaging and disrupting transportation systems, services, and operations across all modes and in all regions of Canada. We recognize that a more resilient transportation system is critical to Canada's long-term prosperity as a trading nation, and also to Canadians' safety and quality of life.
The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development's audit found that Transport Canada is one of five departments that have effectively assessed climate change risks to our activities and taken adaptation action. Transport Canada was pleased to see examples of our adaptation work highlighted within the commissioner's report, including the points that follow.
Our departmental climate risk scan focused on identifying potential climate change impacts to Transport Canada's assets, regulatory activities, and programs. Our departmental adaptation plan includes objectives, expected results, roles and responsibilities, and timelines. Our report, “Climate Risks & Adaptation Practices for the Canadian Transportation Sector”, which was co-led with Natural Resources Canada, is a foundational, publicly available source of current knowledge about climate risks to the Canadian transportation sector and about best adaptation practices.
Infrastructure engineering assessments of three northern airports were undertaken by Transport Canada in partnership with territorial governments; these assessments provided information on potential vulnerabilities of the airports' infrastructure to the changing climate, and the observations, conclusions, and recommendations can directly support more informed decision-making about infrastructure operations, maintenance, planning, and development.
Finally, climate risk considerations have been integrated into our departmental risk planning processes, such as our corporate risk profile, since 2011-12.
I'll leave it there. Thank you.
Amanda Wilson Director General, Office of Energy Research and Development, Innovation and Energy Technology Sector, Department of Natural Resources
Thanks very much, Madam Chair, for the opportunity to provide comments to the committee on the fall reports issued by the commissioner.
I'll be speaking specifically to “Report 3—Funding Clean Energy Technologies”, which examined compliance and GHG impact reporting for clean energy technology demonstration projects in three funds, two of which were managed by Natural Resources Canada.
For reference, the two NRCan programs reviewed were the ecoENERGY technology initiative, which ran from 2007 to 2012, and the clean energy fund, which existed between 2009 and 2014. Both programs had a strong focus on funding carbon capture, utilization, and storage demonstration projects, and in addition, the clean energy fund also funded smaller renewable and clean energy demonstration projects.
Let me start by noting that NRCan was pleased with the findings related to this audit. The Office of the Auditor General itself issued a tweet on October 3 that read, “Funding for clean energy technology demonstration projects is well run”.
Natural Resources Canada has over 45 years of experience administering clean energy technology funding programs, and we're proud of our track record. Our experience, combined with a continuous drive to improve the way we do business, meant that we welcomed the audit report and its resulting recommendations. We've found these to be helpful, shining a light on areas where we can do even better in terms of strengthening the link between investment and outcomes.
NRCan agreed with the commissioner's three recommendations addressed to the department, the first of which related to clearly documenting project assessment and approval decisions regarding potential GHG emissions reductions. I'm pleased to report that we've developed and implemented a rigorous documentation process for the assessment and approval of projects, including a requirement to provide supplementary information on the potential reduction of GHG emissions.
The commissioner's second recommendation addressed the issue of public reporting on GHG emissions reductions, recommending that NRCan report them for all demo projects intended to achieve reductions and not just for carbon capture, utilization, and storage projects, as had been the practice. The audit did acknowledge, however, that NRCan had internally tracked GHG reduction results for many of these other smaller projects. We just hadn't reported them publicly. As such, NRCan agrees with this recommendation and is working to adopt a process for tracking and reporting on all projects with expected GHG emissions reductions of at least 0.01 megatonnes per project.
The third recommendation put forth by the commissioner suggests that NRCan and ISED work together, in consultation with ECCC, to develop a plan for the measurement and reporting on outcomes for demo projects that aim to reduce GHG emissions. I'm happy to report that we are indeed working with our federal colleagues on such an approach.
Madam Chair, committee members, thank you once again for the opportunity to address the committee. I hope the overview has been helpful. Merci.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Deb Schulte
Thank you so much for all your understanding about the rushed format.
We're going to open with questions, starting with Mr. Bossio.
Liberal
Mike Bossio Liberal Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON
Thank you all for being here this morning.
Thank you for cutting your presentation shorter so we have an opportunity to ask these questions.
My questions are primarily for Mr. Jones. According to the data, are emissions increasing?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Pan-Canadian Framework Implementation Office, Department of the Environment
The emissions data are available. The reported inventory is available every year. Emissions have fluctuated over the last several years. I believe the auditor's report does have a line graph. In the absence of policy, they are projected to increase going forward, but as you'll see in the auditor's report, in the commissioner's report, with our new policies they are projected to decrease quite significantly.
Liberal
Mike Bossio Liberal Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON
Is the last data we have on emissions for 2015?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Pan-Canadian Framework Implementation Office, Department of the Environment
That's right. There's typically a two-year lag on emissions inventory information.
Liberal
Mike Bossio Liberal Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON
According to the data, is climate change happening? Is it a reality?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Pan-Canadian Framework Implementation Office, Department of the Environment
I think the fact that climate change is happening is unequivocal. The leading scientists of the world have stated unequivocally that climate change is happening and is unequivocally caused by human actions. I don't think there's any debate on that point.
Liberal
Mike Bossio Liberal Hastings—Lennox and Addington, ON
Would you agree that there's no silver bullet to solving the climate change dilemma?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Pan-Canadian Framework Implementation Office, Department of the Environment
Absolutely. We've approached the development of our policies by trying to look at it from all angles. I think we've certainly concluded that there is no silver bullet. Had there been one, we would have one policy rather than a suite of policies. There are so many different sources of emissions that different policy tools are perhaps better suited to get at different sources. We've attempted to take a holistic approach.