1 Introduction

Getting to 2050: Canada's Transition to a Low-emission Future — Advice for Long-term Reductions of Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollutants

1.1 Purpose

The overall purpose of this Advisory Report is to respond to a request for advice from the federal government to the National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE), in November 2006, on the question of how deep long-term reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and air pollutants could be achieved. Specifically, this report focuses on the policy options available to Canada to address these issues and on the economic and environmental implications of those options. This report builds upon the findings and research presented in the NRTEE's Interim Report to the Minister of the Environment in June 2007. [3]

A second purpose of this report is to inform the current national debate on climate change as it relates specifically to medium- and long-term GHG and air pollutant emission reduction strategies. Over the past five years, the NRTEE has been examining questions related to the use of fiscal policy to promote long-term GHG emissions reductions, climate change adaptation in the Canadian context, and a long-term technology scenario for how Canada might substantially reduce its GHG emissions. This Advisory Report builds on our recent work, adding to the debate a new view on the design of longer-term climate change policy.

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