Guilbeault hails 'monumental' COP28 deal, others warn of 'dangerous distractions'
Canada's environment minister hailed a "monumental" deal on Wednesday to close out COP28, the first time the United Nations climate summit of nearly 200 countries agreed to transition away from fossil fuels.
The agreement approved in Dubai was welcomed by some observers as a historic turning point in global climate negotiations and stronger than a draft floated earlier in the week.
- Top headlines on Canadian politics, all in one place
- Top climate and environment headlines, all in one place
But many warned of what they saw as loopholes and distractions included in the agreement that could undermine the action needed to meet the global commitment to keep temperature rise to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial times.
Minister Steven Guilbeault said Canada played a "leading role in solidifying the deal."
"The deal sets the tone for the next few years as we continue our efforts in tackling the climate crisis," he wrote in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter. "This outcome is monumental."
Within minutes of opening Wednesday's session in Dubai, COP28 President Sultan al-Jaber gavelled in approval of the central document -- an evaluation of how off-track the world is on climate and how to get back on -- without giving critics a chance to comment. He hailed it as a "historic package to accelerate climate action."
The agreement calls on countries to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, "accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net zero by 2050."
Liz McDowell, Vancouver-based senior campaigns director with the environmental group Stand.earth, warned the deal is weakened by "dangerous distractions," such as leaving the door open to so-called transitional fuels like natural gas, and failed to commit wealthy countries to finance the energy transition.
"Back home, we're determined to hold the Canadian government accountable to commitments they made here in Dubai to transition our economy away from fossil fuels," McDowell said in a statement.
The federal government made several announcements during the two-week summit, unveiling its emissions cap for the oil and gas industry and draft regulations to drastically cut methane emissions from the sector.
Wednesday's deal at COP28 went further than a draft agreement that caused an uproar earlier in the week. That draft prepared by the COP presidency made no mention of a fossil fuel phase down or phase out, instead calling for countries to reduce "consumption and production of fossil fuels, in a just, orderly and equitable manner."
Catherine Abreu, a leading voice in Canadian climate policy circles, said the agreement marked "an extraordinary turning point" for negotiations that had for 30 years focused on emissions but not their cause. Two years ago, the draft agreement coming out of the summit in Scotland was the first to mention fossil fuel use at all, though limited it to coal.
"We will ensure that those countries like Canada most responsible for the climate crisis, that have benefited most from wrecking our atmosphere with fossil fuel production, pay up for the energy transition," Abreu, executive director of Destination Zero, a non-profit working on climate justice and renewable energy transitions, wrote in a statement.
The document agreed to on Wednesday is a central part of the 2015 Paris accord, which mandated countries to periodically assess their commitments to limit warming to the 1.5-degree threshold.
The countries recognized that meeting that target required "deep, rapid and sustained" global emissions reductions of 43 per cent by 2030 and 60 per cent by 2035 relative to 2019 levels.
To help achieve that, the agreement calls for a tripling of renewable energy capacity and a doubling of the annual rate of energy efficiency by 2030.
- with files from the Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2023.
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
An explosion at a coal mine in eastern Iran kills at least 33 workers
An explosion in a coal mine in eastern Iran killed at least 33 workers and injured 17 others, officials said Sunday, marking one of the worst mining disasters in the country's history as others remained missing hours after the blast.
Sunken superyacht believed to contain watertight safes with sensitive intelligence data
Specialist divers surveying the wreckage of the US$40 million superyacht that sank off Sicily in August, killing seven people including British tech tycoon Mike Lynch, have asked for heightened security to guard the vessel, over concerns that sensitive data locked in its safes may interest foreign governments, multiple sources told CNN.
Myths busted and lessons learned: John Vennavally-Rao on his surgery to reverse his ostomy
Twenty-seven year Â鶹ӰÊÓ reporter and anchor John Vennavally-Rao shares his story of what it was like to have an ostomy bag as part of his health-care battle. 'I’m grateful for what it did to extend my life,' he writes in a personal column for CTVNews.ca.
Coffee could be more than a morning pick-me-up, according to new research
A morning cup of coffee may do more than just perk you up, according to new research.
4 killed and multiple people wounded in Birmingham late night shooting, Alabama police say
Four people have died and more than 20 were wounded in a shooting in a nightlife area in Birmingham, Alabama, according to police and news reports.
The British Columbia election campaign is set to officially start today, with Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin issuing the writ for the Oct. 19 vote.
Luck of the draw: N.L. ads to be featured in match against football giants Chelsea
Newfoundland and Labrador sponsored a minor football team in England, now they’re about to play one of the biggest clubs in European soccer.
International zoo conference focuses on conservation: Experts say more needs to be done globally
More than 2,200 zoo professionals from 23 different countries have gathered in Calgary for the annual Association of Zoos and Aquariums conference.
A northern Ontario man is facing a $12,000 fine after illegally shooting a moose near the Batchawan River.
Local Spotlight
Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.
Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.
An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.
They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.
A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.
Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.
The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.
It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.