Federal green fund misses emission, job targets by miles

The Liberal government’s green subsidy program is not expected to even come close to meeting its climate and job-creation goals, according to an internal evaluation.

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The Liberal government’s green subsidy program is not expected to even come close to meeting its climate and job-creation goals, according to an internal evaluation.

The $2-billion Low Carbon Economy Fund, launched by the Trudeau government in 2016, was designed to support projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create “green jobs.”

However a Department of Environment report revealed by Blacklock’s reporting found persistent delays, cancellations and withdrawals which had undermined the program’s effectiveness.

"Higher-than-expected project delays, cancellations, and withdrawals impacted the program’s ability to meet established greenhouse gas reduction targets within planned timelines," the report stated.

"A robust uncertainty analysis could help ensure that at least some of these challenges are integrated into the analysis used to estimate a project’s emission reduction."

The fund’s budget was later raised to $2.2 billion before being cut to $820 million as projects struggled.

The government initially projected the program would reduce emissions by 10 million tonnes by 2030, a goal later lowered to 7 million tonnes and then again to just 3.9 million tonnes.

Job creation targets were also revised sharply downward.

The fund’s initial goal of creating more than 115,000 jobs by 2030 has been cut to 34,500.

The findings highlight the government’s ongoing failure to deliver green jobs through such projects, such as its failure in the EV sector.