2 top climate advisers quit, saying Carney government is ignoring its experts
Simon Donner, Catherine Abreu resign from Net-Zero Advisory Body citing federal shifts on climate policy
Two founding members of the federal government’s Net-Zero Advisory Body have resigned, saying its work is being ignored by Ottawa as it moves away from previous climate commitments and toward new oil and gas projects.
University of British Columbia professor Simon Donner and global climate campaigner Catherine Abreu both resigned from the group this week, leaving the advisory body with just four remaining members.
In a post on his LinkedIn account, Donner says he is grateful for the opportunity to help shape climate policy in Canada. Donner is a prominent climate scientist and was the co-chair of the body.
He says the structure and governance of the net-zero advisory body was "never ideal" and that "the situation became more difficult this year as the government, and its priorities, changed."
"I was comfortable chairing an appointed body whose advice is considered but ultimately rejected—after all, no one elected us," Donner wrote.
"I was not comfortable with the process becoming neglected or performative, and it had begun to feel that way to me."
Abreu posted a statement related to her resignation, raising issues with the government’s recent deal with Alberta to support a new oil pipeline and its major projects legislation that could fast-track environmental approvals for LNG and other fossil fuel and mining projects.
“There is no question the hard-won downward trend in Canadian greenhouse gas emissions will be reversed by the current government's ‘Climate Competitiveness Strategy,’ which suspends, delays and dismantles climate policy with no alternative measures in place,” she wrote in her statement.
Abreu added that the advisory body’s expert advice was not sought or considered in the recent decisions, and that the obligations under Canada’s Net-Zero Accountability Act are not being respected.
The act created the advisory body and commits the federal government to set and stick to its emissions targets. Recent analysis has made it clear that Canada will miss its 2030 targets.
The written mandate of the net-zero advisory body is to "identify pathways to help Canada achieve net-zero emissions by 2050."
Canada is set to introduce an update to its emissions reduction plan before the end of the year.
With files from Inayat Singh