Ontario will miss 2030 emission reduction goal by even wider gap than it admits: auditor

Ontario's environment ministry says it will miss its 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, but the auditor general said Wednesday the province will in fact likely miss that target by an even wider margin.

Auditor general Shelley Spence says in a report that the government has projected that it will miss its 2030 target of reducing emissions by 3.5 megatonnes.

But even in the projection that it would fail to reduce annual emissions to about 141 megatonnes by that year, the auditor says Ontario has overestimated reductions to be achieved from government initiatives in every sector.

Spence says the projection includes federal policies that have ended, including the consumer carbon tax and electric vehicle subsidies.

Ontario environment minister said 'we are on track' to meet 203