FEBRUARY 2024 19 While there are always at least two sides to every argument, Canada’s ag community seems to be coming out more often on the losing side. Case in point: Bill C-234 to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act. This Canadian federal law sets minimum national standards for carbon pricing in Canada to meet emission reduction targets under the Paris Agreement. At the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, on December 12, 2015, the Paris Agreement entered into force on November 4, 2016. A total of 196 countries, including Canada, agreed to abide by the Paris Agreement. The overarching goal of the Paris Agreement is to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” To limit global warming to 1.5°C, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must peak before 2025 at the latest and decline by 43 percent by 2030. That 2030 date is why all 196 countries involved have only ever had such a short amount of time to make drastic changes to the way they go about their daily business. Regardless of one’s view towards climate change, the Canadian federal government and all 10 of the The world is not enough Wanting to do their part in reducing global GHG emissions, Canadian farmers still can’t catch a break from federal tax fees. But what’s going on around the world? By Andrew Joseph, Editor GHG UPDATE As part of the global community, Canada has agreed to follow the United Nations mandate that countries reduce their GHG emissions to strive towards a net zero 2050 carbon-neutral environment. The problem is that no one knows how to do that, even though Canada has been reducing its levels for decades. Sakorn Sukkasemsakorn/iStock/Getty Images Plus photo
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