Lennie Kaplan was a senior manager in the fiscal and economic policy division of the Ministry of Treasury Board and Finance.With the third anniversary of Alberta’s net zero emissions (NZE) climate change strategy (the Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan (EREP) fast approaching, it appears that implementation plans are still lacking critical elements, while regular public reporting to Albertans on progress is virtually non-existent. These are among the key insights based on my review of partial records on ERED implementation recently obtained from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (EPA) under Access to Information (ATI). All this even though Premier Danielle Smith has been enthusiastically pitching Alberta net zero since July 2022, reaffirmed it in the province’s 2023 climate change plan, and officially signed on to it, along with the Carney Liberals, as one of the headline items of the Canada-Alberta MOU.According to the partial records, an internal EREP Progress Rollup was prepared in May 2025 by EPA, with input from affected government ministries. However, the rollup document, which rates progress of proposed EREP initiatives on a stoplight (red, yellow, and green) basis, lacks detail and the fundamental elements of a robust accountability framework, as identified by Alberta’s Auditor General. Nor has the rollup document, or a comprehensive progress report based on the rollup document, been publicly released to Albertans. Perhaps a comprehensive EREP progress report will be released this year, in 2026, on the third anniversary of the EREP, but we don’t know. Progress on the following EREP key initiatives, among others, is either not being pursued, has experienced setbacks, or is not being implemented as planned, but is still being pursued. .Consider reducing the provincial legislated oil sands emission limit and implementing regulations that align with the Pathways Alliance targets to decrease net emissions in the sector for 2030, 2040, and ultimately achieve neutral carbon emissions by 2050.Engage stakeholders to explore the establishment of a low-carbon gaseous minimum blend rate for utility natural gas, which may include renewable natural gas and/or hydrogen. Additionally, work on developing policies to achieve this blend rate without compromising affordability, reliability, and safety.Continue to work collaboratively with partners, including environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs), industry, indigenous organizations, municipalities, labour groups, and others, to design effective policies and programs that support the implementation of the Emissions Reduction and Energy Development Plan.Publish reports that document the progress and outcomes of the actions taken as part of the EREP..Efforts at stakeholder engagement and reporting on EREP progress appear to be particularly deficient. The EREP rollup document states that “progress was updated on the anniversary of the EREP’s release, but no other progress reporting has been done.”With respect to continuing to work collaboratively with partners, including ENGOs, industry, indigenous organizations, municipalities, labour groups, and others, to design effective policy and programs to support implementation of the EREP, the rollup states that “…development of policy and programs has not been a core focus of the discussions.” In fact, a senior official in the EPA frankly points out in May 2025 that “we haven’t met with any of those organizations, other than industry groups, and in those meetings, designing effective policy and programs to support EREP’s implementation wasn’t discussed. We feel that the spirit of the initiative has not been met, even if there has been some meetings with industry, focusing on other topics. Again, if you feel like enough has been to warrant a green light, we will change it.” The Office of the Alberta Auditor General (OAG) has pointed out that the fundamental elements of a robust climate change accountability framework include maintaining overall and sectoral implementation plans; rigorous and effective monitoring of the progress of programs, including information on emission reductions achieved and costs for each action; and a regular system of public reporting to Albertans on the results achieved to date. The internal EREP rollup document lacks these fundamental elements and creates more uncertainty about how and whether the Smith government can reach its goal of NZE by 2050, or even any interim emissions reduction targets established for 2030, 2035, 2040, and 2045. Back in November 2025, I called on the OAG to initiate a comprehensive performance audit into whether the Alberta Ministries of Environment and Protected Areas and Alberta Energy and Minerals have adequate systems and processes in place for planning, monitoring, and reporting to meet the goals, strategies, and actions set out under the EREP. Given the apparent lack of progress on implementing a strong accountability framework for the EREP, as gleaned from examining these partial records, I reiterate that call today. I also believe that the EREP accountability framework needs to be legislated, a key feature of best practice climate change strategy accountability frameworks. A strong legislated EREP accountability framework is critical so that policies and actions can be clearly evaluated against expectations to ensure that policies are being pursued cost-effectively. Thus, I am calling on the Smith government to introduce and pass an EREP Implementation and Accountability Act during the 2026 spring session of the Legislative Assembly.Lennie Kaplan was a senior manager in the fiscal and economic policy division of the Ministry of Treasury Board and Finance. He also served as a consultant to the Office of the Auditor General during its 2018 audit, “Design of Systems to Manage the Climate Leadership Plan and Adaptation.”
