In Picking up the Slack: Law, Institutions and Canadian Climate Policy, Andrew Green offers an in-depth and detailed examination of the complex issue of addressing climate change in Canada. Green is a professor and the Metcalf Chair in Environmental Law at the University of Toronto, and his expertise is clear. His book is incisive in its technical examination of policy and the political process in Canada and thoroughly addresses the pitfalls that have hindered the process thus far. In the book, Green seeks to answer the question of “Why, in an era when climate change is front of mind for so many people, have we failed to make progress?” and makes the argument that the issue lies deep in Canada’s institutional arrangements. Adding to Canadian literature on environmental policy and law, Green adds his contributions by clearly demonstrating that the lack of movement in the realm of climate policy in this country is not simply one of political will or scientific understanding (or lack thereof), but instead a complex interplay of legal, institutional and economic forces.
Green avoids the politics of the climate crisis and instead employs a clinical approach, dividing the discussion into three main issues: “the vast amount of discretion that lies at the heart of climate change laws and policies; the diffusion of responsibility for climate action; and the deference to government decisions on climate by the courts and by the public” (emphasis in original). For example, he shows how emissions regulations differ across sectors such as oil and gas, transportation and agriculture, not only due to economic roles but also due to differing legal instruments, highlighting how legal discretion and policy fragmentation hinder coordinated action and reinforce the diffusion of responsibility.
One of the central insights Green presents is how Canadian laws permit a high degree of discretion across various levels of government and sectors, allowing for flexibility but also enabling governments to avoid accountability. In the fifth chapter, Green shows how responsibility for ecological policy is shuffled and then diffused from federal to provincial to municipal levels, with no one taking action. Canada’s constitutional structure—especially the division of powers between federal and provincial governments—emerges as a central and pressing institutional constraint. While this division can foster regional innovation, it more often leads to regulatory conflict and inertia, especially when provinces prioritize economic over environmental concerns.
In addition to his legal analysis, Green addresses the economic implications of climate policy in Canada. He critically examines how cost-benefit calculations and economic modelling shape political discourse and policy outcomes, often prioritizing short-term economic growth over long-term environmental sustainability. The book challenges the assumption that economic growth and environmental stewardship are always compatible, arguing that institutional incentives often skew in favour of immediate economic interests, especially in resource-dependent provinces.
Finally, Picking Up the Slack delves into the issue of public trust in government, arguing that the failure to implement coherent and consistent climate policy undermines citizen confidence in political institutions. Green explores the social and institutional dimensions of trust, noting that transparency, predictability and fairness in policy making are critical to building the public legitimacy needed for ambitious climate action. His work challenges readers to see climate change not just as a technical or environmental issue, but also as a deeply institutional one—where laws, norms and governance structures must be re-evaluated to achieve meaningful progress.
Unfortunately, the complexity that Green establishes ultimately weakens his overall argument for change. He notes in the beginning of the book that he has tried to “strike a balance between technical depth and accessibility” (xi) and wanted this works to be “set out in a readable manner that provides the contours of a solution” (xi), but while Picking Up the Slack offers a richly detailed analysis, its dense legal and institutional focus may limit accessibility for general readers unfamiliar with the intricacies of Canadian law and policy.
Though Green aims to provide a message that is “ultimately optimistic and sheds light on how we can bring about meaningful movement towards a fair and positive future,” his overwhelming focus on complexity makes any solution to stalled climate policy in Canada seem overly complicated. The book discusses few workable solutions, and when examples are offered, Green tempers them with qualifiers of failure in the past—leaving the reader feeling that they would not work now either. While it is not necessary for the book to provide solutions for every issue, the repeated caveats make addressing climate change in Canada feel overwhelming. A better framing might be as one piece of the puzzle—perhaps paired with work by Indigenous or activist scholars—to avoid past mistakes when strategizing future policies. As it is, the book is well researched and Green provides informed education in spades, but this is only a first step.
