Canada is not backing down “in any way” on its 2030 and 2035 greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction targets, Ottawa insists, while continuing to focus on its longer-term goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.Speaking to the media on Thursday ahead of the upcoming United Nations climate summit, known as COP30, Canadian government officials spoke of the “difficult discussions” that lie ahead. Specifically, these discussions will focus on the work that remains to be done to limit the extent of global warming.“What we want is a multilateral process where there will be, if you will, the candor and honesty to confront these difficult discussions in order to find answers that work for most countries and, above all, send the right messages to economic actors,” they said.Officials noted that Canada faces “challenges” in meeting its GHG reduction targets, such as the 2030 target, which calls for a reduction of at least 40 per cent from 2005 levels, and the 2035 target, which calls for a reduction of at least 45 per cent.But these challenges are faced by all countries, as was repeatedly emphasized during the technical briefing.He mentioned that progress toward achieving “any target” may not be as “linear” as some would like.“We recognize that we have submitted our national reduction targets (for 2030 and 2035) and that we have not backtracked in any way,” said the Canadian government representative.A report released last year by the federal commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development indicated that Canada was not on track to meet its 2030 target. Jerry DeMarco estimated that Canadian emissions had fallen by only seven per cent from 2005 levels.In recent months, Prime Minister Mark Carney and other government officials have created confusion by carefully avoiding clearly reaffirming their commitment to meet the 2030 and 2035 targets.Carney has often responded with a vague statement that he is interested in “results” rather than targets. However, he has never quantified the results he is aiming for.The 2025 budget, tabled on Tuesday, does not provide any more clarity on this issue, although the Liberals outline their climate competitiveness strategy, which they had been promising to present for weeks.When asked Wednesday about his intentions regarding Canada’s 2030 target under the Paris Agreement, the prime minister said, “We are not abandoning it.”He reiterated his message that businesses will have to reduce their emissions in order to remain competitive.Carney has drawn criticism from many environmental groups in Canada for backtracking on certain environmental measures taken by his predecessor, Justin Trudeau. This is the case with carbon pricing, which had an impact on consumers because it affected gasoline prices.Carney’s first action upon becoming prime minister was to suspend this increasingly unpopular measure, commonly referred to as the “carbon tax.”–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews