EDITORIAL: Beware the EU’s carbon tariff scheme

The EU’s emission targets are far more stringent than ours

Published Nov 03, 2026  •  Last updated 23 minutes ago  •  2 minute read

Part of the cover of "Implementing the Canadian Net‑Zero Emissions Accountability Act—2026 Report" Photo by Office of the Auditor General of Canada

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A report by the federal environment commissioner last week put another nail in the coffin of the federal government’s previous claims that Canada was on track to meet its targets for reducing our industrial greenhouse gas emissions.

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In fact, we are falling even further behind because Prime Minister Mark Carney has cancelled many programs developed by the previous Justin Trudeau government, arguing they would hinder Canada’s economic growth.

Canada’s failure to come anywhere close to achieving its targets should also raise alarm bells about participating in the European Union’s emissions trading system, which will impose carbon tariffs on some Canadian exports.

The EU’s emission targets are far more stringent than ours and completely unrealistic for Canada, given that we’re the second-largest and second-coldest country on earth, with a resource-based economy.

Canada’s emissions are 10.3% below 2005 levels as of 2024 (the latest available government data) and are only a quarter of the way to meeting Trudeau’s 2030 target of cutting emissions to at least 40% below 2005 levels.

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Carney conceded last year that the 2030 and 2035 targets (at least 45% below 2005 levels) were unachievable. As environment commissioner Jerry V. DeMarco wrote in his fourth annual report on Canada’s emissions: “With a growing emissions gap, Environment and Climate Change Canada did not report on how Canada will meet its 2030 target.”

Actions by Carney, such as cancelling the consumer carbon tax, removing the emissions cap on the oil and gas sector and repealing the electric vehicle mandates, have further widened the gap.

As DeMarco noted: “Current projections indicate an expected reduction in emissions of only 28% by 2030, a smaller reduction than the 36% projected in the 2023 Progress Report on the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan. These projections do not account for the recent cancellation and weakening of some measures put in place to reduce emissions.”

As of 2023, the feds had earmarked more than $200 billion to address climate change through 149 programs administered by 13 government agencies.

Commenting on one of them, DeMarco wrote, “The low-carbon fuel procurement program … initially estimated to result in emissions reductions of 507 kilotonnes … is now expected to contribute to reducing emissions by only 80 (kilotonnes).”

Trudeau’s failed climate strategy demands a forensic audit.

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