The Liberal government is accelerating its goal for all new car and light-duty truck sales in Canada to be zero-emission vehicles.
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said they now intend to hit the target by 2035, five years sooner than the original goal.
Alghabra cited a recent International Energy Agency report which said virtually all new light-duty vehicles would need to be zero-emission by 2035 to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
“In many ways, economic growth and addressing climate change means innovating and changing the way we do things,” Alghabra said during a news conference Tuesday.
Ottawa says it will pursue a combination of investments and regulations to help Canadians and industry achieve the target.
Alghabra said zero-emission vehicles are a key part of his government’s plan for a green economy but acknowledged that they can often be too costly for some Canadians.
The Liberal government introduced a rebate program two years ago which offers incentives of up to $5,000 to purchase or lease a zero-emission vehicle.
To date, the federal government has invested $587 million in the incentive which has helped more than 92,000 Canadians and businesses.
“Fighting climate change and limiting environmental impacts from transportation will ensure cleaner air and water for future generations and it will also create good jobs and opportunities for all Canadians,” said Alghabra.
Environment and Climate Change Minister Jonathan Wilkinson noted that transportation accounts for about one-quarter of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions.
“We simply must reduce our transportation emissions and really there is no time to lose,” said Wilkinson.
“The math is pretty simple: cars last around 15 years, so we need 100 per cent of new vehicles sold to be ZEVs by 2035 if we are going to achieve our net-zero emission goal by 2050.”
Wilkinson said Norway will sell nothing but zero-emission vehicles by 2025, with Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Iceland, Slovenia, Israel and Ireland all expecting to get there by 2030.
Other places including the United Kingdom, Japan and California, have committed to 100 per cent zero-emission vehicle sales by 2035, he said.
Wilkinson said Canada will work with the United States on fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emission standards and consult domestically on enacting further measures to reach the 2035 target.
