Last night, Canada’s first ministers issued a joint communiqué and released the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change.

It promises that federal, provincial, and territorial governments "will work together to establish a review of carbon pricing, including expert assessment of stringency and effectiveness that compares carbon pricing systems across Canada, which will be completed by early 2022 to provide certainty on the path forward".

The statement was not endorsed by Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall.

The joint communiqué also pledges to improve electricity-grid integration, reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector, improve building codes to promote more efficient energy use, and boost the number of electric-vehicle-recharging stations.

The executive director of Clean Energy Canada, Merran Smith, praised the agreement, saying it marked "the first time, governments across Canada are working together to hit a national climate target".

“It took leadership from the federal government and many of the premiers to get today’s framework in place," Smith said in a statement. "It’s unfortunate Saskatchewan decided not to sign onto this national effort, and that Manitoba opted out for now—but it’s good news that the rest of Canada is moving ahead regardless.

“This national climate plan adds new tools to the toolbox to reduce carbon pollution across the economy—including in buildings, transportation and our electricity system," she added. "Now, governments must put those tools to work. This will create new economic opportunities, opening doors for Canadian businesses and workers in the growing global market for clean energy solutions.”

“Today is a critical turning point in Canada’s response to climate change. The climate framework released today is the first truly national climate change plan in Canada’s history. It outlines a comprehensive suite of measures to meet Canada’s 2030 target and to achieve greater climate ambition with time.

The Pembina Institute, which advocates for a low-carbon future, also praised the first ministers' efforts.

“In particular, it is essential that provinces work with the federal government to adopt strengthened building codes, to implement an effective clean fuels standard, and to increase the carbon price after 2022," it stated in a news release. “The pan-Canadian climate plan is an important milestone on the pathway to mid-century decarbonization. Continued progress on reducing emissions is a core requirement of the Paris Agreement, and we expect Canada will demonstrate its seriousness about those long-term goals by explicitly linking the pan-Canadian plan to its recently released mid-century strategy."

The communiqué was issued less than two weeks after the Justin Trudeau government approved two new pipeline projects. One of them was Enbridge's Line 3 upgrade from Hardisty, Alberta, to Gretna, Manitoba. This involves doubling a pipeline's capacity to 760,000 barrels per day for shipment to the United States.

The other was the Kinder Morgan pipeline project, which will triple bitumen shipments from Edmonton to Burnaby to 890,000 barrels per day. It will also increase the number of annual oil tanker shipments through Burrard Inlet from 60 to approximately 400.

Trudeau's cabinet vetoed Enbridge's Northern Gateway pipeline.

"The Great Bear Rainforest is no place for a pipeline, and the Douglas Channel is no place for oil tanker traffic," Trudeau said on November 30.

In the past, Trudeau has publicly supported the Keystone XL pipeline, which would ship 890,000 barrels per day to the United States. In 2014, he told reporters in Vancouver that then prime minister Stephen Harper had failed to make a good case for the project.

President-elect Donald Trump has promised to revive Keystone XL after it was vetoed by the Obama administration.

In addition, the Trudeau government has not made a decision on the application for the Energy East pipeline. It would ship 1.1 million barrels per day from Alberta and Saskatchewan to New Brunswick.

It's conceivable that as prime minister, Trudeau could oversee the approval of four of the five major pipeline projects supported by the petroleum industry.

This could go a long way toward reviving Liberals' popularity in Alberta. It was on the skids for more than three decades after Trudeau's father, Pierre, approved the National Energy Program in 1980.

The NEP was designed to share Alberta's oil wealth with the country. This contributed to the rise of the Reform Party of Canada under Preston Manning in the 1980s.

Below, you can read the first ministers' entire statement on climate change:

“Climate change is indisputable, as are the significant impacts it is having in Canada and around the world. From increased heat waves, droughts, flooding, and thawing permafrost, changes to the Earth’s climate can be seen and felt by all Canadians. Nowhere is this more pronounced than in Canada’s North. We are already facing the social and economic costs of climate change which poses significant risk to our environment, as well as to our health, security, and future prosperity. This is why we have been working together in close collaboration on behalf of all Canadians to develop a plan to grow our economy, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and build resilience to the impacts of a changing climate.

“We convened today to adopt the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change, following the commitments made in the Vancouver Declaration of March 2016. The Framework is rooted in the principles of a collaborative approach outlined in the Vancouver Declaration to reduce GHG emissions and enable sustainable economic growth, recognizing the need for fair and flexible approaches to support the diversity of provincial and territorial economies.

“This Framework builds on actions of provincial and territorial governments to reduce GHG emissions and identifies actions that will seize the many economic opportunities afforded by clean growth. It presents an ambitious and achievable plan to address our common challenges, while also improving our quality of life and building a healthy environment for our children and grandchildren. The actions taken under the Framework will contribute to meeting or exceeding Canada’s 2030 climate change target of a 30 percent reduction below 2005 greenhouse gas levels.

“This Framework represents not simply an agreement between First Ministers, but a pan-Canadian plan for action which has been developed with input from Canadians across the country. Indigenous Peoples have shown climate leadership long before the Paris Agreement and are active drivers of positive change. The development of the Framework was also informed by input from municipalities, businesses and civil society who made it clear that they want to be part of the solution to climate change.

“Pricing carbon pollution is an efficient way to reduce GHG emissions, drive innovation, and encourage people and businesses to pollute less. It is a core element of the Framework and governments will work together on its implementation.

“The Framework outlines critical actions that we will take to grow the economy while reducing GHG emissions. These actions include:

• developing new building codes to ensure that buildings use less energy, saving money for households and businesses;

• deploying more electric charging stations to support zero-emitting vehicles, which is an integral part of the future of transportation;

• expanding clean electricity systems, promoting inter-ties, and using smart-grid technologies to phase out the reliance on coal, make more efficient use of existing power supplies, and ensure a greater use of renewable energy;

• reducing methane emission from the oil and gas sector;

• protecting and enhancing carbon stored in forested lands, wetlands and agricultural lands; and

• setting an example and driving significant reductions in emissions from government operations.

“We agreed to take action to adapt to the changing climate and to build climate resilience, recognizing that coastal, northern and Indigenous communities face unique circumstances. These communities are especially vulnerable to the threat of rising temperatures and feel the impacts of climate change first.

“A focus on clean technology is a core element of the Framework and through the actions identified, we will foster innovation and create new jobs, new technologies and new export opportunities. We also agreed on the importance of having globally competitive Canadian businesses as we transition to a low-carbon economy. We will position Canada to contribute to global solutions that can be exported to the world.

“In support of these efforts, the federal government, in collaboration with the provinces and territories, will be making historic investments in green infrastructure, public transit, and clean technology and innovation. This will include helping Indigenous Peoples and remote and northern communities reduce their reliance on diesel by connecting these communities to electricity grids and implementing renewable energy systems.

“The Framework also builds on the ongoing work of federal, provincial and territorial ministers from a range of portfolios, including environment, innovation and finance. We also received today an update from energy ministers on specific actions under the Canadian Energy Strategy that provincial and territorial governments will implement with the collaboration of the federal government in support of the Framework, including initiatives on energy conservation and efficiency, clean energy innovations and delivering electricity connections to markets in Canada and abroad.

“We reaffirmed the importance of ongoing collaboration as we work together to implement the Framework. We will continue to collaborate on efforts to track progress to reduce GHG emissions and to report on actions and performance. This process will include engagement with external experts to help ensure that our actions are transparent and open to independent review. We will also continue to engage Canadians and ensure meaningful involvement of Indigenous Peoples as we grow our economy and create good jobs and take ambitious action on climate change.

“We have tasked our ministers and officials to implement the Framework and report back to us on progress within a year, and annually thereafter. Federal, provincial and territorial governments will work together to establish a review of carbon pricing, including expert assessment of stringency and effectiveness that compares carbon pricing systems across Canada, which will be completed by early 2022 to provide certainty on the path forward. An interim report will be completed in 2020, which will be reviewed and assessed by First Ministers. As an early deliverable, the review will assess approaches and best practices to address the competitiveness of emissions-intensive, trade-exposed sectors.

“Canada works best when we all work together on shared goals and objectives. Today’s adoption of the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change is a major step towards building a prosperous, low-carbon future for our children and grandchildren.”