Timeline: Action on Climate Change

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The Government of Canada is taking an aggressive approach to climate change that achieves environmental and economic benefits for all Canadians. The following timeline shows progress that the Government has made to address climate change since it signed onto the Copenhagen Accord at the end of 2009.

2010:

• January - Set Canada's greenhouse gas emissions target at a 17 per cent reduction from 2005 levels by 2020, under the Copenhagen Accord.
• April - Invested $500 million in research to help reduce greenhouse gases from building construction.
• September - Released final regulations requiring 5% renewable fuel content in gasoline.
• October - Joined the REDD+ partnership, which aims to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
• October - Announced $400 million in fast-start financing to help developing countries reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.
• October - Finalized regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from passenger cars and light trucks model years 2011-2016.
• December - Supported the Cancun Agreement outcomes at the COP 16 climate change conference.

2011:

• April - The Boundary Dam carbon capture and storage project in Saskatchewan to which the Government of Canada provided $240 million, is approved for construction.
• August - Announced $281 million to support the development of clean energy technologies.
• September - Announced $195 million to improve energy efficiency in Canadian buildings and industries.
• November - Committed $148.8 million to help address the impacts of climate change on Canadians.
• November - Committed $600.8 million over five years to Government of Canada climate change and clean air programs.
• December - Announced a total package of $1.2 billion in fast-start financing to support developing countries.
• December - Supported the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action at COP 17, which moves us toward an international climate change treaty by 2020 that includes all major emitters.   

2012:

• February - Launched the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants alongside international partners.
• February - Joined the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, which aims to reduce emissions of black carbon, a short-lived climate pollutant.
• February - Provided $10 million in fast-start financing to address short-lived climate pollutants.
• June - Released Canada's Action Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Aviation.
• August - Canada is halfway there in its national effort to meet its Copenhagen target.
• September - Released final regulations to reduce GHG emissions from coal-fired electricity generation.
• November - Released proposed regulations to reduce GHG emissions from passenger cars and light trucks model years 2017 and beyond.
• December - Supported the Doha Climate Gateway at the COP 18 climate change conference.

2013:

• February - In its first year, membership to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants grew from six founding countries to over 50 members.
• February - Released final regulations to reduce GHG emissions from heavy-duty vehicles such as full-size pick-ups, semi trucks, garbage trucks and buses.
• April - Announced an additional $10 million to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants.
• April - Between 2005 and 2011, the economy grew by 8.4% while Canadian GHG emissions decreased by 4.8%.