Thank you, Mr. Chair.

We're happy to appear before your committee to discuss our November 2023 report on the 2030 emissions reduction plan, which was developed by Environment and Climate Change Canada under the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act.

I would like to acknowledge that this hearing is taking place on the traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.

With me today is Kimberley Leach, who was responsible for the audit. Also with me today is Mathieu Lequain, who was responsible for the 2024 net-zero accelerator audit, which I understand is also of interest to the committee.

Emissions in Canada are higher today than when this country and the world first committed to fighting climate change at the United Nations Earth Summit more than 30 years ago. Plans have come and gone, and Canada has yet to meet any of its targets. Meanwhile, the need to reverse the trend on Canada's greenhouse gas emissions has grown only more pressing. This is not my first time sounding this alarm, and I will continue to do so until Canada turns the tide.

While we were not required to begin reporting on the implementation of the 2030 emissions reduction plan until the end of 2024, we decided to move more quickly, given the urgency of climate change. Overall, we found that the plan was insufficient to meet Canada's target to reduce emissions by 40% to 45% below the 2005 level by 2030. We found that measures needed to meet the 2030 target were delayed by departments or were not prioritized for implementation. We also found a lack of reliability and transparency in economic and emissions modelling, leading the government to make overly optimistic assumptions about emissions reductions.

I was also concerned to find that responsibility for reducing emissions was fragmented among multiple federal entities not directly accountable to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. This means that the minister has no authority to commit other entities to reduce emissions to meet the target.

The good news is that some measures in the 2030 emissions reduction plan are quite promising. If applied rigorously and extensively, carbon pricing and regulatory measures could lead to considerable reductions in emissions.

We expect to publish our next report under the Canadian Net‑Zero Emissions Accountability Act in the fall. In this report, we'll assess the government's actions in three areas. These areas are the implementation of specific emission reduction measures, the advancement of our recommendations and public reporting on progress.

In closing, I would like to reiterate that it will soon be too late to avoid the catastrophic effects of climate change. Intense forest fires, smoke in the sky, heat waves, severe thunderstorms and floods are becoming increasingly serious and common. These events are affecting people across Canada.

Canada's most important response to the global climate emergency involves taking concrete action to reduce emissions. There are solutions, such as implementing effective financial and regulatory measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The issue lies in the fact that the available solutions are being implemented much too slowly.

Mr. Chair, this concludes my opening remarks. We look forward to answering the committee members' questions.

Thank you.