Ex-top climate adviser says Alberta pipeline deal is not compatible with net-zero target

Canada’s former top climate adviser said the pipeline deal Canada signed with Alberta is incompatible with Carney government’s net-zero target.

“You can’t be saying these deals are still compatible with net-zero by 2050. They’re not. The deal is not compatible with it,” said Simon Donner, the former co-chair of the Net-Zero Advisory Body (NZAB), while testifying before the House of Commons environment committee.

“Just be honest with Canadians about this. If you are going to pass deals like this, be honest about the implications.”

In May, both Ottawa and the Alberta government signed an implementation agreement to build a potential pipeline to the West Coast. The federal government promised it would “reduce emissions” and establish a “stronger” carbon pricing system. 

Donner, a climate scientist at the University of British Columbia, is not the first to cast doubt on the Carney government’s commitment to net-zero emissions. 

The Canadian Climate Institute conducted its own modelling into the impact of the new deal on carbon pricing that now sees it rise to $130 per tonne by 2040. The agreement weakens and delays the original price of $170 per tonne by 2030, according to climate policy experts.

The institute found that despite Alberta’s commitment to keep increasing carbon pricing, it won’t be sufficient to change the province and Canada’s emissions trajectory. Ultimately, the deal will do little to help Canada achieve its climate targets, according to the modelling. 

NZAB was set up in 2022 as an arm’s length group that was supposed to provide advice to the government on how to achieve its climate targets. Donner and Catherine Abreu, the two founding members of the federal body, resigned in December.

Abreu said she and others in the climate space have grown despondent with Prime Minister Mark Carney, who championed climate action as central banker and while working for the United Nations. She said she stands in solidarity with voters who supported Carney who feel let down.

“I think many of us are experiencing that disappointment,” Abreu told the environment committee on Tuesday, where she was testifying along with Donner.

“The fact that we are not transitioning our economy for the future really worries me.” 

Since Carney assumed office, the two said, the body was not consulted on key changes to Canada’s emissions plan. They said as an independent body NZAB also did not have its own staff nor control over its own budget, which slowed down their research.

Under Carney, the Prime Minister’s Office never met NZAB or sought its advice, Donner said, though he acknowledged there was no obligation to do so.

“But I find it highly strange they wouldn’t be interested.”