P.E.I. making little headway on emissions reduction targets, new data shows

Prince Edward Island greenhouse gas emissions reached their highest level in eight years in 2021, according to the latest figures released by Environment and Climate Change Canada.

The province's total emissions for 2021 were 1,627 kilotonnes (kt), an increase of 2.8 per cent over the year before.

The year-over-year increase of 45 kilotonnes is roughly equivalent to the annual emissions from nearly 10,000gas-powered passenger vehicles.

Overall, emissions increased across Canada in 2021, reflecting an economy bouncing back from pandemic restrictions.

For the country as a whole, the increase still left emissions below pre-pandemic levels.

But in P.E.I.'s case, the new figures show the province has made little headway toward its ambitious emissions reductions targets since 2013.

Under P.E.I.'s Net-zero Carbon Act, the province needs to reduce emissions to 1,200 kilotonnes or less by the year 2030. The province has pledged to reach net zero emissions by 2040, a decade earlier than the date set by the federal government.

Susceptible to effects of climate change

Provincial Environment, Energy and Climate Action Minister Steven Myersis confident that target is within reach.

He saidevery school bus on the Island will be electric by 2030. As well, the province aims to switch more motorists from gas to electric cars, and shift more commuters out of their cars altogether and onto public transportation.

"We're trying to get people to move from oil to electric heat at home, we're trying to displace as much oil as we can from our transportation system so where we can, we're going to electrify," he said Tuesday.

"It's about transitioning our energy systems and trying to make them as close to net zero as we can by 2030."

As a province located on anisland, P.E.I. is particularly susceptible to the effects of climate change. It was hammered last September by post-tropical storm Fiona, the second major storm to hit P.E.I. within three years.

Fiona knocked out power to the entire province, in some cases for three weeks,and caused significant erosion along parts of the Island's coastline.

Climate scientists have predicted warmer ocean temperatures will lead to more severe storms like Fiona in the decades ahead.

"The Government of Prince Edward Island recognizes its responsibility to lead by example and to continue to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," according to a web site explaining the province's climate change action plan.

According to an update Myers released last fall, the province spent $19 million on efficiency programs in 2021-22. In that year, the province says it:

• Processed 568 rebate applications for household solar photovoltaicsystems.
• Provided rebates for 335 battery-powered electric vehicles and 65 plug-in hybrids.
• Approved 1,122 applications for free heat pumps through the province's income-tested program.

Caroline Lee of the Canadian Climate Institute in Ottawa saysP.E.I. already has some of the policies needed to reach its targets, but will have to do moreto reduce emissions from agriculture as well astransportation.

"Ambitious goals are important. Of course, the second piece of that is implementing policies that'll actually get you to those goals that you set. So that's where we see that P.E.I. needs to do a little bit of work," she said.