The Carney government has lost its bid to dismiss a lawsuit alleging Ottawa no longer has a credible plan to meet Canada’s 2030 emissions target, after a judge ruled the case can proceed to a full hearing.

The case is based on the Canadian Net Zero Emissions Accountability Act, a Trudeau-era legislation that requires setting national targets for greenhouse gas emissions and establishing a credible plan to meet those goals.

The three young climate activists leading the challenge, Marie Maltais, Sophia Mathur and Shirley Barnea, along with Environmental Defense and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, argue that recent policy decisions have made the 2030 targets unachievable.

They are hoping the court will order Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin to amend the emissions reduction plan to include measures to meet climate goals.

Much of the legal back-and-forth so far has focused on Section 11 of the Act, which says the minister may amend the target or the plan to meet it.

Ottawa argues the word “may” means it’s under no obligation to act.

But in a September 18 decision, Justice Gleeson disagreed, saying one word can’t settle whether the government is simply allowed to update its climate plan, or required to.

“The words of an Act are to be read in their entire context,” reads part of the decision.

It’s a long-standing rule courts use when interpreting laws, that a single word or phrase shouldn’t be read on its own, but alongside the purpose of the law as a whole.

Ottawa’s other argument was that courts shouldn’t rule on government climate policy. The judge said that’s the kind of question best left for a full hearing.

Previous climate policies were divisive, expensive: Carney

In a “Forward Guidance” video released on social media earlier this summer, Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged that his government’s rollback of parts of the federal climate plan would lead to higher emissions.

He called the previous Liberal plan, which included an emissions cap, an electric vehicle mandate and higher carbon pricing, among other policies, too expensive and divisive.

The latest data from Environment and Climate Change Canada suggests the country will fall short of its 2030 climate targets, achieving a 45 per cent reduction of 2005 levels at best.

The Canadian Climate Institute goes further in a recent report, stating that Ottawa is more than 20 years behind reaching its 2030 target.

READ MORE: Canada ‘has to try’ to reach 2030 climate targets, says Dabrusin

“New analysis of Canada’s current emissions trajectory finds the country is not expected to hit its 2030 emissions target before 2050, let alone achieve net zero emissions by then,” reads part of the report.

The policies driving this shift include the memorandum of understanding between Alberta and Ottawa, which slowed the scheduled increase in industrial carbon pricing and cleared the way for a new bitumen pipeline with a capacity of at least 1 million barrels a day.

Ottawa has not indicated whether it will appeal the ruling allowing the climate challenge to move forward, and Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Following his departure from the Liberal party over climate policy disputes, former environment minister Steven Guilbeault warned in an exit interview with The Narwhal that Ottawa may move to repeal the climate accountability law.