Over two years, people in Canada have taken 142,128 actions and counting to call for a strong cap on oil and gas emissions.
That’s 142,128 times Canadians from coast to coast to coast have taken time out of their day — whether it’s a minute or two to sign a petition; half an hour to pen a letter to their MP or Prime Minister Trudeau or their local paper; an entire day or week to organize a meeting with their MP or coordinate and attend a rally at their office; or countless hours at phone banks, patching concerned citizens through to their representatives to urge them to champion this all-important policy.
People in Canada care deeply about the emissions cap — our best shot at meeting Canada’s climate targets and curbing the emissions that have caused the devastating climate impacts felt all this summer.
Polling shows that 7 in 10 Canadians want the emissions cap to ensure that the oil and gas industry takes on its fair share of the climate effort. Two new studies found a majority of people in Alberta support an emissions cap.
And more than 250 organizations representing millions of people across Canada and in 30 countries around the world have thrown their support behind the emissions cap, and are watching to make sure decision-makers follow through.
The message to MPs is clear: your constituents want an emissions cap that makes the country’s biggest polluters do their fair share. Delivering this should be the first order of business as you return to Parliament. Canadians will not tolerate any more delays or caving to industry lobbying.
Back in November 2021, Prime Minister Trudeau made international headlines for announcing a bold new policy his government was introducing: a hard cap on oil and gas emissions in Canada.
“We’ll cap oil and gas sector emissions today and ensure they decrease tomorrow at a pace and scale needed to reach net-zero by 2050,”said Trudeau during his two-minute speech in front of other world leaders gathered in Scotland at the 26th Conference of Parties to discuss action on climate change.
Fast forward to September 2023: the policy to cap oil and gas emissions is nowhere to be seen, with Environment and Climate Change Minister Guilbeault announcing delay after delay amidst industry pushback.
Science is on the side of a hard cap on oil and gas emissions. People who have lost their homes and watched their communities burn want a hard cap on oil and gas emissions.