Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Good afternoon, everyone. Thank you for having me today.
I will pick up where Paul Fauteux left off. I have three points to make. They are all related to climate action.
My first point is that it is clear that the governance of climate action in Canada is not working and needs to evolve. Canada has not achieved its climate objectives over the past 20 years. As part of my research, I keep track of carbon emissions, the primary driver of climate change. Of the G7 countries, Canada is the only country whose emissions are not decreasing. They are 20% above the 1990 level. In the last decade, they have risen again. Emissions decreased in at least 43 countries while their economies grew. Climate policies are working in other countries, but they are not working in Canada. Therefore, the governance of climate action needs to be considerably strengthened. In the documents that I submitted, you have a graph of the G7 countries.
My second point is that strong climate governance is good for governments. I want to share here my experience of working with France. In 2018, France established the High Council on Climate, whose main task is to evaluate the government's climate strategy. I chair this high council. I can testify to the positive influence it has had. As soon as it was installed, it helped clarify the debates in France and the focus on the issues that really mattered.
The high council has provided robust evidence and increasingly specific information on blockages to progress, which the government has been able to act on. It has provided transparency and accountability. It has increased public support for climate action. The council in France and similar independent bodies provide mechanisms to ensure that expert voices are heard. They provide the justification and legitimacy needed to put forward ambitious actions, should governments wish to.
My third point is that we know what good climate governance looks like. We now have from around the world a lot of experience of countries where it has worked. The U.K. Climate Change Committee, on which I sit, is the oldest of such committees, and the U.K. has been the most successful in meeting its climate targets. In fact, its emissions have decreased 28% in the last 10 years alone. Canadian emissions increased by 3% during that time period.
Based on experience in other countries, here are the things that have been demonstrated to work: annual reviews of progress made by a fully independent body; a direct voice to Parliament; a duty from government to respond to these progress reports annually; interim goals that are set well in advance; five-year carbon budgets used by the U.K. and France to fix their levels 15 years in advance, providing clear signals to businesses and the public; and the provision of advice to rectify policies should they not meet their target.
A strong support team is needed to deliver these tasks. That is a team that has expert technical, scientific, social and economic expertise that is needed to unpack the issues. That is a team that has sufficient and protected resources, and that can determine and conduct their own work program.
The motion discussed today, to make the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development an independent officer of Parliament, goes in the direction that has worked in other countries. It would be a first step toward putting in place the governance needed to guarantee—and here I say “guarantee”—that Canada's climate targets are met.
Thank you.