Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre says he is not proposing Canada exit the Paris Agreement
Poilievre didn't address how he would meet Canada's commitments under the accord
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Wednesday he is not proposing to withdraw Canada from the landmark international climate treaty — the Paris Agreement.
As the world prepares for another climate summit, COP 28, Poilievre was asked Wednesday before heading into a caucus meeting with Conservative MPs and senators if he would withdraw Canada from the climate treaty.
In French, Poilievre replied, "We are not proposing that."
This appears to be the first time since Poilievre became Conservative leader in 2022 that he has confirmed he's not planning on pulling out of the Paris Agreement.
It also comes two weeks after Poilievre wouldn't say if he would commit Canada to achieving its climate targets under the agreement — an emissions reduction of between 40 and 45 per cent by 2030.
Poilievre's latest comments don't address whether Conservatives would commit to achieving those targets. Neither are they a ringing endorsement of the climate change agreement.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May called Poilievre's remarks "reassuring" but said they also give Poilievre room to change his mind.
"It doesn't sound like a full-throated endorsement," May told CBC News. "It gives him room to say later, 'We were not pulling out then but we are now.'"
May notes the Conservatives, under previous prime minister Steven Harper, withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in 2011. Canada ratified the international climate agreement in 1997 but was not on track to meet its legally binding targets.
Poilievre's office was asked to clarify the leader's comments. In response, it sent CBC a statement that highlighted an audit from the environment commissioner, which notes Canada is not on track to meet its targets set under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
"After eight years of Trudeau, the Liberal government has not met a single solitary one of its own climate targets," said Sebastian Skamski, director of media relations for the Opposition leader's office. "In fact, Trudeau's own environment commissioner gave his Liberal government a failing grade earlier this month."
Skamski also said the Liberals flip-flopped on one of their foundational climate policies — carbon pricing.
"Trudeau's expensive carbon tax is evidently a tax plan, not a climate plan, something he admitted with his heating oil 'carve-out'," he said in a statement.
'Concerning lack' of policy solutions
Caroline Brouillette, the executive director of Climate Action Network Canada, said Poilievre's comments Wednesday show a "concerning lack" of policy solutions to one of the most important threats the world faces.
"After a summer of record-breaking wildfires and smoke, the fact that the only Conservative Party response to the climate crisis is 'not proposing to withdraw from the Paris Agreement' shows little regard to the safety of Canadians," Brouillette said in a media statement.
The Paris Agreement, which Canada signed in 2016, commits countries to working toward limiting warming to the critical threshold of 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels. According to the UN, the world is on track for a temperature rise of 2.9 degrees by the end of this century.
According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, surpassing 1.5 C could have catastrophic consequences for the planet.
Poilievre has faced pressure to share his plan for achieving Canada's climate goals, with Liberals going as far as to say the Conservatives don't have one.
The Trudeau Liberals say they haven't met their climate goals because the deadline for meeting the target is 2030.
In a statement, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault noted that according to Environment Canada modelling, Canada is projected to achieve 34 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2030.
While that's not the 40 per cent reduction promised by Trudeau, it is "85 per cent of the way toward our 2030 emission reduction goals and we are closing the gap," Guilbeault said.
Liberals are promising to close the gap with pending measures such as new zero emission vehicle regulations and a promised oil and gas cap.
An independent analysis by the Canadian Climate Institute also indicates there's still a path to achieve those targets.
"Pierre Poilievre would undo all our progress," wrote Guilbeault in response to the Conservative leader's comments. "There are no shortcuts to deal with climate change. As much as Poilievre would like to pretend, we can't simply flip a switch."
So far, Poilievre has said he would use technology and not "carbon taxes" to reduce emissions. Poilievre has said a Conservative government would green-light carbon capture and storage, small modular nuclear reactors, hydroelectric dams and tidal power, and speed up approvals for lithium mines needed for electrification.
"Common sense Conservatives will achieve emissions reductions through technology, not taxes," said Skamski. "This will bring home powerful paycheques for Canadians instead of more hurt from Trudeau's taxes."
Poilievre also faces pressure from the right-wing People's Party of Canada for backing the Paris Agreement. On social media, the PPC drew attention to Poilievre's support for the agreement, which the PPC opposes.
Former Republican U.S. president Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris accord. When Democratic President Joe Biden took office in 2021, the U.S. rejoined the climate treaty.
In 2017, the House of Commons voted on a motion affirming Canada's commitment to implementing the Paris Agreement. Poilievre voted in support, along with most of his caucus colleagues and other MPs.
Conservative MP Cheryl Gallant was the only MP to vote against the motion.
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