The Yukon government held a news conference last Friday to outline where it stands on its Our Clean Future initiative.

Cabinet ministers John Streicker and Nils Clark presented the first annual report on “progress implementing the climate change, energy and green economy commitments found in Our Clean Future.”

The annual report tracks progress over the calendar year and highlights a path to reach the territory’s 2030 climate change goals.

The report details the most recent data on the Yukon’s greenhouse gas emissions and renewable energy electricity generation and the progress toward key targets in Our Clean Future. It also includes additional information on the objectives of the strategy.

“Our Clean Future is the first-ever Yukon-wide strategy to address the changing climate in our territory and find sustainable ways to protect our communities and transition to a more green economy,” Clarke said. “This first annual report highlights what we have achieved in a challenging year and the work that still needs to be done.”

The news release issued before the conference stated “annual reports on Our Clean Future will continue to be released to keep Yukoners informed on actions the Government of Yukon, Yukon First Nations governments and municipal partners are taking to meet the strategy’s targets and build a cleaner, more resilient future for Yukoners.”

Clarke said those “report cards” will be one of the most important parts of keeping the public engaged and able to track the government’s progress on its promises.

“We will be very public and very accountable,” he said.

“There’s much more work to be done. We have made progress on our climate actions by creating new Good Energy rebates for clean transportation, establishing the Yukon’s first-ever Youth Panel on Climate Change and increasing our capacity to prevent and respond to wildfires,” Streicker said.

“Yukon First Nations governments, municipalities and all Yukoners recognize the urgency of the climate crisis.”

Streicker mentioned the government has approved the installation of six new charging stations for electric vehicles between Whitehorse and Dawson City.

He proudly pointed to a notable increase in the number of e-vehicles on the roads of the Yukon as well.

There are now eight licensed e-vehicles, with many more expected to join them in the next few years.

Clarke and Streicker compared the acceptance process of such vehicles to the advent of smart phones.

“We’re near a tipping point where these vehicles will be broadly accepted by the public,” Clarke said.

The minister of Economic Development, Ranj Pillai, didn’t attend the news conference. He issued a statement through the news release.

“Climate change remains our biggest challenge as we continue making transformative investments together with Yukon First Nations governments, municipalities and community partners,” he said.

“Together we are growing the Yukon’s green economy and creating more economic and employment opportunities throughout the territory.”

The Our Clean Future plan is a Yukon-wide strategy to address the climate emergency, the news release said. It was developed in partnership with Yukon First Nations governments, transboundary Indigenous groups and Yukon municipalities.

“Of the 11 actions in Our Clean Future with a 2020 deadline, the Government of Yukon completed nine and two are in progress. The two remaining actions are expected to be completed by the end of 2021.”

Those incomplete projects consist of a glacier-monitoring program that is scheduled to be complete by the end of the year. The second is an updated procurement policy that is also slated to be ready by year’s end.

The government has increased the Yukon’s greenhouse gas reduction target to 45 per cent by 2030.

A Yukon Climate Leadership Council is being established to develop recommendations for how to reach this ambitious target.

The government reports there were 58 zero-emission vehicles registered in the territory at the end of 2020 – twice as many as at the end of 2019.

The government supported 25 high-performance building retrofits and 15 smart electric heating system installations in 2020.

As of the end of 2020, air quality monitoring stations were installed in eight communities across the Yukon and geohazard maps were prepared for 11 Yukon communities.

“This will help us to adapt to the impacts of climate change,” the release said.

The government now incorporates greenhouse gas emissions and energy efficiency when identifying and prioritizing building retrofits and new construction.

The Yukon’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, excluding emissions from the mining industry, were 18 per cent higher than 2010 levels.

These emissions were expected to peak in 2020 and then start to decline as a result of Our Clean Future, the government said.