FEDERAL WATCHDOG WARNS CANADA'S 2030 EMISSIONS TARGET MAY NOT BE ACHIEVABLE

 Canada's environment commissioner said Tuesday the country may not be able to reach its 2030 emissions reductions targets because the federal government's current plan is based on "unrealistic" assumptions about the role hydrogen will play in the energy mix in years to come.

The commissioner, Jerry DeMarco, released a series of audits today that document the federal government's environment-related shortcomings — including its failure to produce a meaningful "just transition" plan for energy workers displaced by the transition to a low-carbon economy and the uneven application of a supposedly national price on carbon emissions.

But DeMarco was perhaps most scathing in his assessment of the government's hydrogen strategy, which he said is based on "overly optimistic" assumptions that "compromise the credibility" of the government's entire emissions reduction plan.

Speaking at a press conference, DeMarco said the government's questionable hydrogen emissions targets "raise concerns about their overall approach to climate modeling and emissions reductions in general."

"Canada needs to be more upfront and transparent about their assumptions for what is quite an optimistic view of hydrogen's role," he said. "They need to be realistic."

The federal government has pledged to reduce Canada's emissions by 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030 and it is counting on the widespread deployment of hydrogen - a carbon-free energy source that produces no greenhouse gases when burned - to help the country achieve that. ambitious target.

DEPARTMENTS DISAGREE ON IMPACT OF HYDROGEN

Two federal departments - Environment and Climate Change Canada and Natural Resources Canada - have said that rapid adoption of hydrogen would result in sizeable emissions reductions because it could displace high-carbon fuels. But the commissioner found these departments couldn't agree on the amount of emissions that would be offset by its use.