At a glance – Evaluation of the Core Climate Change Mitigation Program

The Core Climate Change Mitigation Program (CCCMP) was established in 2016. It focuses primarily on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation, electricity, and oil and gas sectors, but also addresses short-lived climate pollutant emissions from certain sources, including landfills and wood-burning appliances. Key CCCMP activities include science and reporting, policy and analysis and mitigation actions consisting primarily in the development, implementation, administration, review and amendment of regulations made under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

Since the program was established, the Government of Canada introduced A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, also known as the Strengthened Climate Plan (December 2020); adopted a new, more ambitious target of 40-45% reduction in GHG emissions below 2005 levels (up from 30%) by 2030 (April 2021); enacted the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act (June 2021); announced a variety of new commitments for the transportation, oil and gas and electricity sectors (Fall 2021); and published the first 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan under the Canadian Net-Zero Accountability Act (March 2022).

What the evaluation found

Overall, implementation of the CCCMP has gone well. All major commitments have been implemented, including key planned mitigation measures for the transportation, oil and gas and electricity sectors. Program logic is coherent and measures are complementary to other federal, provincial and territorial measures, with limited evidence of overlap or duplication.

While the transportation, oil and gas and electricity sectors remain appropriate targets for mitigation, an increased pace, stringency and/or scope of measures are needed for these sectors to be able to meet recent federal commitments and targets. Similarly, further action on methane beyond measures currently in place is needed to achieve Canada’s commitment to reduce emissions under the Global Methane Pledge. Several opportunities for improved scientific and technical knowledge were also identified. While gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) was conducted during the design of the CCCMP and some mitigation measures, it will be important to ensure that GBA Plus continues to be considered in the development, implementation and review of all CCCMP mitigation measures.

CCCMP engages extensively with stakeholders within and outside of the federal government, including other federal departments, provincial and territorial governments, industry, environmental non-governmental organizations, researchers and academia, as well as international regulatory agencies and organizations. While these efforts are generally viewed as positive and constructive, there are opportunities to enhance collaboration with the provinces and territories. In addition, a need to enhance engagement with Indigenous peoples was identified.

There is evidence of progress toward the immediate and intermediate outcomes of the CCCMP relating to information, awareness and compliance, and more limited evidence to date of reduced emissions in the 3 main sectors targeted by the program.

Rather than having program-specific governance, logic model and performance measurement, the CCCMP currently leverages existing departmental mechanisms, including at the Departmental Results Framework level and for specific regulations. Other than Short-lived climate pollutant Integration Committee, the program does not have a formal mechanism for integrating climate change mitigation science, policy and regulatory development. Instead, it leverages existing departmental structures and relationships, for example through informal biweekly information-sharing teleconferences. Establishing formal and program-specific governance structures, logic model and performance measurement could enhance program oversight, coordination, accountability, and effectiveness.

Recommendations and management response

The following recommendations are addressed to ECCC’s Assistant Deputy Minister of the Environmental Protection Branch (EPB), as the senior departmental official responsible for the Core Climate Change Mitigation Program.

Management response

ECCC agrees that good decision making requires a robust knowledge base.

The Department is committed to the continuous improvement of scientific information related to climate change. ECCC’s Science and Technology Branch is currently leading the development of the Climate Science 2050: Canada’s Climate Change Science & Knowledge Plan. This Plan will identify Canadian climate change science and knowledge priorities and inform future planning and investments by science and knowledge producers, holders and funders as they advance the collaborative and interdisciplinary efforts needed to inform climate action. Effective progress on these science activities will require improved coordination of collaborative government-academic research partnerships, enabled by ECCC working closely with the granting councils to build and guide this capacity.

ECCC’s Science and Technology Branch is also leading the development of a whole-of-government plan to reduce methane emissions across the broader Canadian economy consistent with the Global Methane Pledge. Enhancing scientific knowledge and continuous improvement in emissions measurement and quantification is essential to inform policy decisions and is a key part of this plan. The Government of Canada will continue to work with academics, scientific experts, industry, and clean technology companies to better understand methane emission sources and improve quantification to mitigate emissions.

ECCC has some of the most advanced modelling measures in the country. It has also implemented a variety of initiatives such as the Department’s Academic Engagement Strategy, the Net-Zero Advisory Body, and the Climate Change Institute. In addition, the Department has also recently received funding related to Nature-based Climate Solutions. Although these initiatives are being funded separately from Clean Growth Climate Change programming, the Department will continue to seek opportunities to leverage these initiatives to improve its capacity to respond to demands for accurate economic and emissions modelling.

ECCC uses Grants and Contributions agreements to support technological developments to support transition to net-zero emissions, and will continue to identify experts to carry out appropriate activities under Grants and Contributions agreements.

Management response

More work is needed to prevent and minimize plastic waste and pollution, and to increase the reuse of plastics. The focus of the work under the ongoing Zero Plastic Waste Initiative will continue to be based on the hierarchy that is reflected in the universally accepted waste management hierarchy and the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment’s Canada-wide Strategy on Zero Plastic Waste. In the coming phase, ECCC will develop a roadmap to encourage product life extension, focusing on reuse and repair. This roadmap will be informed by a June 2021 study commissioned by ECCC on value-retention processes (VRPs): A Socio-Economic and Environmental Study of the Canadian Remanufacturing Sector and Other Value-Retention Processes in the Context of a Circular Economy, and a study on the reuse sector. It will complement a federal commitment to implement a “right to repair” to extend the life of home appliances, particularly electronics, through cooperation between ISED and ECCC.

Management response

The Core Climate Change Mitigation Program, the subject of this evaluation, is a part of the Clean Growth and Climate Change Mitigation Program. The Clean Growth and Climate Change Mitigation Program is included in the Departmental Results Framework, and includes 7 Core Climate Change Mitigation Program-specific indicators, 5 of which are also Departmental Results Indicators.

The program currently has a number of horizontal collaborative mechanisms in place for governance and coordination of climate change mitigation science, policy, and regulatory development. These include the Deputy Minister Climate Plan Implementation, the Assistant Deputy Minister Climate Plan Implementation, and the Director General Climate Plan Implementation committees. The program will continue to leverage existing committees and working groups to ensure coherence among activities, and identify areas for improvement.

As required by the Treasury Board Secretariat’s Policy on Results, ECCC has established a Performance Information Profile for each program in the Departmental Results Framework Program Inventory. Each Performance Information Profile contains a logic model and an indicator table.

As Canada’s climate plans continue to evolve, a review and update of the Clean Growth and Climate Change Mitigation Program Performance Information Profile is recommended. The current Performance Information Profile is mostly based on the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change and lacks information related to measures subsequently announced in the Emissions Reduction Plan. These concerns have been raised by Corporate Services and Finances Branch and by the Climate Change Branch.

The program is also scheduled to present the results and progress of the Clean Growth and Climate Change Mitigation Program to the Performance Measurement, Evaluation and Results Committee in early 2023.

About the evaluation

This evaluation was conducted from January 2021 to January 2022. It focused on the period from April 2016 to June 2021 and included all CCCMP activities, with the exception of the Clean Fuel Regulations. It used multiple methods including literature, document and data review; 4 detailed case studies; jurisdictional comparative analysis; and 68 interviews with ECCC representatives, federal partners and external interested parties, including regulatees.