Nova Scotia releases sweeping plan aimed at cutting emissions, reaching climate goals
Nova Scotia released a wide-ranging plan Wednesday aimed at helping it meet climate goals enshrined in legislation last year.
The province has legislated an overall goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 53 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
The new plan includes 68 measures, including a new pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electricity by 90 per cent by 2035 and to reduce home heating oil use by at least 20 per cent by 2030.
"These 68 actions will help us be responsive and prepared for changes in the climate that will impact us in order to avoid further damages and losses," Environment Minister Tim Halman told a news conference. "This plan is a starting point for a new focus in Nova Scotia on climate action."
Passed in November 2021, the Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act also pledged to have 80 per cent of the province's energy supplied by renewable sources by 2030 and to have zero-emission vehicles account for 30 per cent of vehicle sales by 2030.
To help with vehicle emissions, the new government plan pledges to build more electric vehicle charging stations across the province and to increase the number of zero-emissions vehicles and e-bikes through rebates and public education programs.
However, officials acknowledged that negotiations with the federal government aimed at improving vehicle availability in the Atlantic region will be key to making battery-powered cars a widespread reality in the province.
The plan includes a ban on the installation of oil-fired heating equipment in new buildings and homes by 2025 and the adoption of current national building codes. There is also a call to increase the amount of renewable energy used for electricity generation by building at least 500 megawatts of new local, renewable energy by 2026 and an additional 50 megawatts of new community solar. An action plan for the development of green hydrogen is also to be created by next year.
"The plan will help Nova Scotians reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, save on their energy bill and prepare for the impacts of climate change," Halman said.
The minister said a key to the plan is accountability with the government committed to reporting annually on its progress and to reviewing and renewing it within five years.
Liberal environment critic Iain Rankin called the plan "solid" but said a "big hole" is the lack of a plan for decommissioning the province's coal-fired power plants. Electricity generation from coal and other fossil fuels represented 43.4 per cent of the province's total greenhouse gas emissions in 2020.
"There's no feasible explanation on how they'll decommission even one coal plant, let alone all eight of them," Rankin said.
Marla MacLeod, director of programs at the Ecology Action Centre, also gave a mostly positive review of the plan, saying she is particularly pleased to see government accountability reporting included as part of "clear and actionable items."
But MacLeod said there is a lack of detail on funding for the actions, and that's something that "we need to watch."
Meanwhile, the plan also calls for continued work with neighbouring provinces in order to transfer more electricity across Atlantic Canada through projects such as the so-called Atlantic Loop.
The viability of the proposed $5-billion transmission project, which envisions giving the region more access to Labrador and Quebec hydroelectricity, has recently been in question, but Natural Resources Minister Tory Rushton said talks continue aimed at getting it off the ground.
"That's an important project to get us over the (emissions) hurdle," said Rushton. "The federal government has to be at the table with some funding, the conversations at the present time are very encouraging, and hopefully sometime in the new year we will hear an announcement from the federal government."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.