April 17 (Reuters) - Canada's federal budget on Tuesday unveiled few emissions-cutting policies, but climate advocates say the key for Justin Trudeau's Liberal government is to prioritize implementation of existing programs ahead of next year's election that could see the Conservatives clinching power.
Canada, the world's fourth-largest oil producer, has pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions 40% to 45% below 2005 levels by 2030. Trudeau's Liberals have announced a number of measures to hit that target, including an oil and gas emissions cap, methane regulations and investment tax credits in clean electricity and carbon capture and storage, but progress has been slow compared with other nations.
Opinion polls now suggest after nearly a decade in power the Liberals will be defeated in the next election by the opposition Conservative Party led by Pierre Poilievre, who has vowed to fight the oil and gas emissions cap and scrap a hugely unpopular carbon tax.
That would leave the Trudeau government at most 18 months to enact a number of key climate policies.
"The thing we most want is implementation," said Dale Beugin, executive vice president of the Canadian Climate Institute. "It's not like there's a need for a bunch of new policies at this point, because the to-do list is still huge."
Trudeau has staked his legacy on fighting emissions, yet some of his policies, including the signature carbon tax, have been opposed by many provinces. Poilievre is yet to outline a comprehensive climate plan, leaving some clean energy industry associations unsure of his party's policy intentions.
"The biofuels sector needs to hear from the Conservatives where we fit in their climate action policies and economic development policies. We're actively engaged with them now," said Doug Hooper, director of policy and regulations at Advanced Biofuels Canada.
