Canadian Chamber of Commerce Net Zero Report

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has released their annual report on the state of the Net-Zero initiative in Canada. This report is designed to address issues brought about by climate change and how Canada’s workforce must adapt to reach our net-zero emission targets. Canada’s current targets are to reduce emissions by 40-45% by 2030 and to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Reaching these targets will not only help to ensure that we reduce our impact on the environment, it will also open up a whole new green economy capable of generating jobs for more Canadians. There are currently 430,500 employed in the clean energy sector and this number is expected to grow to 639,000 by 2030.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce recommends three main priorities for the government to focus their efforts on. The first recommendation is to specify the mechanisms and processes of the sustainable jobs secretariat. This would include appointing a steering committee to oversee labour market research as well as creating regional boards in order to support national and provincial collaboration. The second recommendation is to support localized jobs, skills, and training. This would help build a network of regional and industrial partnerships who would be able to develop more accessible and inclusive policies. The final recommendation is to ensure the economic opportunity of Canada’s future. This means helping businesses and industries understand the net-zero approach and how the jobs transition can be beneficial to them. This also includes an intentional focus on incentivizing investments into Canadian businesses working in the environmental industry with targeted programming, strategic financing, tax credits, pollution pricing and regulated frameworks.