Climate action: Transforming research into climate solutions
An international law-based approach to the climate emergency
Policy & Perspective
An international law-based approach to the climate emergency
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the harmful effects of climate change threaten fundamental human rights, such as the right to life, access to food, clean water, sanitation, housing and health. International laws call for urgent global climate action that lessens climate change and protects the environment and people, especially the most vulnerable. Still, these efforts will not suffice without aligned domestic laws.
Assessing Canada’s net-zero accountability framework
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) law professor Christopher Campbell-Duruflé specializes in international law, environmental law, human rights law and climate law. His work includes an analysis of Canada’s legislated response to the Paris Agreement of 2015, an international treaty based on which 195 Parties (194 states plus the European Union), including Canada, committed to setting and pursuing national climate action plans.
The Paris Agreement’s ultimate goal is to collectively reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that drive climate change to close to zero (or net zero) by 2050. Participating countries must submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) every five years, identifying their specific targets for reducing emissions.
Canada is one of the world’s highest per capita emitters of GHGs. In 2021, the Canadian government adopted the Canadian Net-Zero Emissions Accountability Act (the Net-Zero Act) as a legislated framework for meeting its net-zero emissions commitments per the Paris Agreement. Professor Campbell-Duruflé analyzed the Net-Zero Act’s accountability mechanisms and how it incorporates international law. His criteria included the availability of independent reviews and consequences for Canada not meeting its commitments. He noted both strengths and weaknesses in his assessment.
He found that because the Paris Agreement’s mechanisms mainly focus on reporting and give nations significant discretion over their levels of action to reduce emissions, achieving the treaty’s goals depends heavily on signatories holding themselves accountable domestically. “Without accountability, Canada’s climate efforts may fall short, generating legal risks and undermining global efforts to combat climate change.”
The Net-Zero Act requires Canada’s Minister of the Environment and Climate Change to provide detailed information regarding how the government intends to achieve its targets, as well as a projected timetable. “In the Net-Zero Act, several obligations for the Minister to explain targets and actions enhance government accountability,” said professor Campbell-Duruflé.
However, the Net-Zero Act does not explicitly identify consequences that would apply if the government were to miss a milestone target or even the 2050 net-zero objective. Professor Campbell-Duruflé’s review outlines the difficulty in holding the government accountable for not meeting its targets through the Canadian legal system since NDCs are not made legally enforceable. While having Canada’s NDCs made legally binding under the Net-Zero Act would be ideal, changing their status may not be politically feasible for now.
Strengthening Canada’s emissions target setting
In the face of this challenge, he recommends that the target-setting process for NDCs reflect all the provisions Canada accepted with the Paris Agreement along with its other international commitments. “The Net-Zero Act achieves an incomplete reception of the Paris Agreement,” he said. “I think there is a real risk for NDCs not to be taken seriously, to be seen as ‘feel good’ political pledges.”
Professor Campbell-Duruflé also notes that, although mandated, the Net-Zero Act offers limited public and stakeholder consultation in setting emissions targets. “More engagement with the public and policymakers could promote a non-partisan commitment to climate action and prevent climate policy from becoming a divisive political wedge,” he said.
In particular, he found that the Net-Zero Act offers only limited recognition of Indigenous peoples’ rights in this context when viewed alongside international human rights instruments. He calls for further legal review to ensure their rights are protected in line with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Although the Net-Zero Act is set to be reviewed by Canada’s Parliament in 2026, professor Campbell-Duruflé urges that redressing its shortcomings and improving Canada’s response to the Paris Agreement cannot wait. He explains: “Despite its many weaknesses, the Net-Zero Act offers tools Canadian society cannot afford to ignore if it is ever going to close the gap between its international commitments and its actions.”
Without accountability, Canada’s climate efforts may fall short, generating legal risks and undermining global efforts to combat climate change.
The research in this article was supported by a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
