Activists award Canada ‘fossil of the day’ title at UN climate conference

People participate in a climate protest on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick (Sean Kilpatrick)

OTTAWA — Canada’s reputation as a global climate leader took a hit Tuesday when it was awarded the “fossil of the day” title at the UN Climate Conference in Brazil.

Climate Action Network International, which has handed out the satirical award since 1999, said Canada was singled out for the first time in more than a decade for “flushing years of climate action down the drain.”

While Prime Minister Mark Carney on Monday said Canada respects its commitments under the Paris Agreement and intends to achieve them, that was the first time in months the government issued a clear statement on its climate policy.

The commitment caused Green Party Leader Elizabeth May to change her mind and vote with the government to pass the budget.

Canada has a legal requirement to achieve net-zero by 2050, having included the target in legislation in 2021. Part of its path to get there is a plan to cut emissions to at least 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, a commitment set out in the Paris Agreement.

Carney and his ministers had been vague before Monday about Canada’s Paris commitments and refused to commit to the 2030 target, emphasizing instead the later net-zero target of 2050.

The federal budget committed to reinforcing the government’s industrial carbon pricing policy and finalizing methane regulations. It also opened a path to doing away with the government’s plan to require upstream oil and gas operations to reduce their emissions to 35 per cent below 2019 levels by 2030.

In a statement, Caroline Brouillette, executive director of Climate Action Network Canada, said the world is taking notice of the government’s backtracking on climate.

“It’s sad to see Canada embarrassed on the international stage like this, but even more heartbreaking has been seeing the hard-won and substantial climate progress that we achieved over the past 10 years be torn away piece by piece,” she said.

“I hope it sends a crystal-clear message to Prime Minister Mark Carney -- the world sees this government’s backtracking on climate, and silence at this crucial moment for multilateralism, and it’s not OK.”

Federal Culture Minister Steven Guilbeault -- who was co-chair of the organization handing out the “fossil” awards the last time Canada was given the dubious honour -- did not answer questions about it while heading into the House of Commons on Wednesday.

Patrick Bonin, Bloc Quebecois MP and climate critic, said the award was well earned.

“After a string of environmental rollbacks, and increasing and extending subsidies to the oil and gas industry until 2040, it’s really the only award that the Liberals could have hoped to win,” Bonin said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 19, 2025

The Canadian Press