Canada will need to greatly step up its efforts to achieve its goal of reducing carbon emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels, an independent parliamentary watchdog said Thursday.

The Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) noted in a report that the federal government has adopted measures to cut emissions in electricity generation and transportation.

Several provincial governments have also announced a patchwork of programs.

However, the PBO said: "Those measures, while substantial, are unlikely to achieve the target on their own.

"Deeper reductions will be needed," it concluded.

The PBO -- which is independent of the government and reports directly to MPs -- calculated that Canada's carbon emissions linked to global warming have stabilized at just over 700 million tonnes per year.

But the reduction is 208 million tonnes short of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's commitment at the climate summit in Paris in December.

On Friday, 160 nations will sign the agreement reached in Paris aimed at keeping a rise in global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Trudeau will be present at the UN ceremony.

"It's going to take our best effort to fight climate change," the prime minister said in Twitter message Thursday.

In a speech in New York, he said, "We can't stop using fossil fuels tomorrow, but we need to be more thoughtful in our approach on how we use them.

"Carbon pricing can help us to reduce emissions and stimulate investments in green infrastructure and innovation."

So far, Canada has cut emissions from coal use and brought in stricter fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks.

In its March budget, the federal government earmarked Can$2 billion (US$1.6 billion) for a climate strategy.

But Trudeau failed in the same month to reach an accord with provincial leaders on a national carbon pricing scheme.

Canada's 10 provincial premiers also rejected calls for deeper greenhouse gas cuts, and insisted they would each tailor plans for their respective regions.

In the west, for example, two provinces have or plan to introduce carbon taxes, while in the east two provinces have joined a fledgling continental cap and trade system with the US state of California.

The PBO suggested that the bulk of the emissions reductions would have to come from three sectors: electricity, oil and gas, and transport.

Environment Minister Catherine McKenna will report in six months on efforts to reach a deal to align each region to meet Canada's COP-21 commitment.

She told reporters Tuesday that the price of oil will largely determine if CO2 emissions rise or fall in Canada this year. Canada is the world's fifth largest oil producer and has dramatically scaled back output in response to the oil rout.

Paris climate deal falls short, U.N. expert says
Geneva, Switzerland (UPI) Apr 21, 2016 -While the Paris Climate Agreement is a historic step in the right direction, commitments fall short of curbing global climate change, a U.N. expert said.

Parties to an agreement adopted in December are set to sign off Friday on one of the more significant pieces of climate legislation in history.

The agreement called for all parties to make strides to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to a level necessary to curb global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. Under the terms of the agreement, wealthier nations like China and the United States are expected to help finance the shift to a low-carbon economy from poor developing nations.

"This target would help the world avoid devastating consequences for the ability of the people of the world to enjoy their rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation, housing and many others," John Knox, a U.N. special envoy on human rights and the environment, said in a statement.

Eurostat, the European statistics office, said data from 2014, the last full year for which it published information, show the share of energy from renewable resources was 16 percent, about 89 percent above 2004 levels, the first year it started keeping records on renewables.

European member states are obligated to use renewable energy to meet 20 percent of their energy needs by the end of the decade.

Elsewhere, U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping committed earlier this month to signing the Paris agreement. In the United States, federal data show 2016 will be the first time in history natural gas overtakes coal as the main source of electricity.

A National Economic and Social Development plan outlined by the Chinese government in early March described a series of measures aimed at controlling air, water and soil pollution.

According to the U.N. Environment Program, however, even if all the commitments under the Paris agreement materialize, emissions levels by 2030 could still potentially lead to a global average temperature increase of more than 3 degrees Celsius.

"The commitments pledged by governments to date are insufficient," Knox said.