This column is an opinion by Kyle Hiebert, a research analyst in Winnipeg and former deputy editor of the Africa Conflict Monitor. For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

The much-anticipated climate legislation the Liberal government tabled recently is Canada's strongest contribution yet to the global effort to rein in runaway climate change. It formally places Canada among the 126 countries representing 51 per cent of the global economy that have pledged to be carbon-neutral by 2060 or earlier. However, Bill C-12 on its own lacks the ambition required to steer Canada toward a truly sustainable future.

The federal government under Justin Trudeau has consistently vowed to exceed its 2030 goal of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent below 2005 levels. Reaching that goal – itself a holdover from the Stephen Harper era – would mean a reduction from 730 megatonnes of emissions in 2005, to 511 megatonnes in 2030.

Federal government data from December 2019 showed that Canada is on track to miss that target by roughly 35 per cent, some 77 megatonnes.

As it stands, Bill C-12 appears too passive to substantially close the gap.

The bill does represent some progress on Canada's climate action. It mandates that the federal government create five-year legally binding "milestone" emissions reductions targets, and that the environment minister consult a 15-member nonpartisan expert advisory body on how to best reach net zero.

The bill also creates independent oversight and requires the government to be more transparent around its exposure to the financial risks associated with climate change, thereby modelling behaviour for the private sector to emulate.

• Trudeau unveils new net-zero emissions plan to meet climate change targets

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However, it pales in comparison to the climate plans of other industrialized nations, and critics rightly identify some glaring flaws.

There is no enforcement mechanism – a government that fails to meet its self-imposed targets must only admit it failed to do so and then create a plan to do better – and no assigned budget to conduct environmental performance audits.

The legislation also omits any defined structure for the role that the provinces must play in the success of any future national climate strategy. This alone could sink the most well-intentioned plans, as illustrated by how the future of the Trudeau government's signature climate policy, the carbon tax, now hinges on a decision from the Supreme Court after legal challenges by Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario.