'Too much regulation, not enough action': Carney rebuffs Trudeau's climate policies

Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada has too much regulation and not enough investments in clean energy and technology — and he's making his most direct repudiation yet of his predecessor's environmental policies.

"Because I care about the issue fundamentally, I care about what gets done," Carney said in a year-end interview with CBC News airing Sunday morning. "Not what is put in regulation, not what is said, not what is prohibited — and then nothing happens.

"We have too much regulation, not enough action," the prime minister told CBC News chief political correspondent Rosemary Barton.

Carney, who launched a global banking group to fight climate change before taking office, has faced questions over his commitment to the issue after he signed an agreement with Alberta in November that could pave the way for a new oil pipeline to B.C.'s northwest coast.

In addition to its commitment on a pipeline, Ottawa also agreed to suspend the proposed federal oil and gas emissions cap, as well as Alberta's requirements under federal clean electricity regulations (CER). Both were key policies in former prime minister Justin Trudeau's climate plan.

"The fact is we're not going to meet our targets under a climate plan that had all the things in it that you said," Carney told Barton, referring to the emissions cap and the CER. "We need to get going."

According to new data released from Environment and Climate Change Canada, the country will fall well short of its 2030 climate goal — just halfway to its target of a 40 to 45 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 2005 levels.

Carney instead touted carbon capture and storage — a key condition of the Alberta agreement — as well as nuclear power generation. Alberta has promised to develop a nuclear generation strategy with the federal government by Jan. 1, 2027.

The two sides also agreed to increase the industrial carbon price in the province, moving it from its current level of $95 a tonne to a minimum of $130 a tonne. The federal government had previously demanded that price rise to $170 a tonne by 2030.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) "creates the possibility of many things: investment in nuclear, investment in interties, investment in data centres, investment in carbon capture and, yes, a potential pipeline," Carney said.

Agreement changed for Guilbeault, PM says

Shortly after the MOU with Alberta was signed, Steven Guilbeault — who once served as environment minister under Trudeau — resigned from Carney's cabinet and said he strongly opposed the agreement.

Carney told Barton that some changes were made to the agreement in response to Guilbeault's demands, though he ultimately respects Guilbeault's decision to resign.

"He knew the details. I don't follow everything he says, but he knew what was in the MOU," Carney said. "And elements of the MOU were changed consistent with his views."

Carney did not elaborate on what those changes were, but he said Alberta accepted the amendments. When pressed for more details on what Guilbeault was unhappy with, Carney said those are questions for the former minister.

"We have a different approach," he said.

CBC News reached out to Guilbeault, who did not wish to make a public comment.

The changes were evidently not enough to address the concerns Guilbeault raised with the prime minister, given his later resignation.

Guilbeault referred to the emissions cap and the CER in his resignation announcement and said that "several elements of the climate action plan I worked on as minister of the environment have been, or are about to be, dismantled."

"In my view, these measures remain essential to our climate action plan," he said.

Does Carney want a pipeline?

The prime minister said a pipeline that is accompanied by carbon capture technology and supported by First Nations, British Columbia and Alberta is "absolutely in our interest."

Before the House of Commons rose on Dec. 11 for the six-week holiday break, the Conservatives tried to use a motion to force the Liberals to clearly state whether or not they support an oil pipeline.

The motion lifted language from the Alberta agreement but omitted certain sections, such as the electricity interties to neighbouring provinces, nuclear energy development and the multibillion-dollar carbon capture project.

The motion was also silent on some environmental issues that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith agreed to address, like the industrial carbon tax and methane reduction regulations. It was defeated 196 to 139, with the Bloc Québécois, NDP and Green Party voting with the Liberals.

At the time, Carney said the MOU is more than the sum of its parts and that a pipeline, which he supports, would go ahead only if other conditions in that deal are met.

"You have to eat the entire meal, not just the appetizer," the prime minister said.

According to Alberta officials, the intention is to get shovels in the ground on the pipeline by 2029.

You can watch more of the year-end interview with Prime Minister Mark Carney on Rosemary Barton Live on Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. ET and the full interview on Thursday, Dec. 25 at 10:30 a.m. ET.