Environment committee  Yes.

Environment committee  That's right. I don't have a number.

Environment committee  I'd be happy to. I'll try to be brief. That's certainly a big question. In terms of emission reductions, we do have some good public data on this that we could provide. I think the electricity sector is one where we have seen the most significant reductions, mostly from a switch from coal to alternative sources, everything from natural gas to renewables.

Environment committee  I would say that certainly we've been looking to exceed the target for some time. Actually, we've talked about meeting and exceeding the target for some time. That is certainly the goal. We have a collection of policy measures in the pan-Canadian framework that was originally intended to meet the target in full.

Environment committee  We have the existing suite of measures, which is the foundation, which in our original expectation was going to take us all the way to the target. We realize now, with the various developments since that time, that additional measures are needed. The government has signalled that in this mandate it intends to bring forward new measures in order to meet that target and to exceed it.

Environment committee  This is a subject of discussion and analysis right now. I think the government has been quite clear about its ambition. Certainly, if you look at the science, the need to drive further emission reductions is certainly there for all countries. The definitive figures, in terms of a sharp definition of what “exceed” means, those decisions haven't been made yet.

Environment committee  We're just initiating our analysis now to help identify some potential possibilities for achieving additional emission reductions. We're starting with the mandate commitments. A number of measures are in various mandate letters for many departments, everything from electric buses to retrofitted buildings, tree planting and so forth.

Environment committee  The final decisions about what measures to close the gap will be in that package moving forward haven't been made. We're looking at all policy tools, including our existing funding programs. Most funding programs are time-limited. When they come up for renewal, are there opportunities to change their terms and make them more focused on the greatest sources of emissions and so forth?

Environment committee  Yes, for sure. I think there's great enthusiasm for the potential of homegrown Canadian technologies that can drive emission reductions. One aspect of the PCF, one of the four key pillars, was clean technology. Our view was that Canada has invested in research, but what about deployment?

Environment committee  As you can see, lots of us are involved in this process. Three sets of reports go to the UN. One is annual, the inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, which are historical emissions. That's done every year and made public. Jackie's team is responsible for that report. There's another one called the national communication, which is quite a comprehensive report.

Environment committee  The most recent report went out in January, I believe, or the end of December, which showed 77 megatonnes of emissions unaccounted for with definitive measures. It's important to note that's based on our modelling of projections. Not everything is modellable. Investments in clean technologies we know will help decrease emissions over time, but it's difficult to forecast how much and how fast and at what rate.

Environment committee  It would be helpful to have the experts here. I can tell you that the data sources for the model, which are the foundation of the analysis, come from a number of sources—everywhere from Statistics Canada to other federal agencies—so that we have credible and consistent data sources.

Environment committee  Net zero by 2050 is a driver for a lot of the analysis we're doing right now. Of course, there are a number of different pathways that can get you to net zero. Related to that is what the definition of net zero is. There are a number of definitions out there, both within the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UNFCCC and other academic approaches.

Environment committee  I can probably take the answer only so far.

Environment committee  There is a dedicated economic modelling team within our organization in the strategic policy branch, and the head of that modelling group isn't here with us today. I can tell you that we have one climate model that we use for multiple purposes within Environment Canada. We don't have competing models across different departments.