Canada to stop directly financing fossil fuel projects abroad, with narrow exceptions
With weeks until an end-of-year deadline it agreed to last year, Canada has announced that it will end new direct subsidies for fossil fuel investments and projects abroad — including those owned by Canadian companies.
The policy released Thursday afternoon applies to the extraction, production, transportation, refining and marketing of crude oil, natural gas or thermal coal, as well as power generation projects that do not use technologies such as carbon capture to significantly reduce emissions.
The rules, which take effect Jan. 1, will apply to direct funding from federal departments, agencies and Crown corporations.
Advocates had feared that Canada would opt for a narrower definition of "international" that would nonetheless allow support for Canadian companies abroad, which climate-change organization Environmental Defence estimates makes up about 78 per cent of Canada's international support for such projects.
But the policy defines "international" as "operations outside of Canada's jurisdiction in the fossil fuel energy sector regardless of owner domicile." This means that the federal government is barring itself from funding even fossil fuel projects wholly owned by Canadian companies.
"It's a very strong policy," said Julia Levin, Environmental Defence's national climate program manager. "It's very encouraging that the government has obviously listened to the experts and come up with a broad definition."
Ottawa is making the move weeks shy of a deadline it committed to, along with 38 other countries, in November 2021 at an international climate summit in Glasgow.
Out of high-income signatories, the United Kingdom, France, Finland, Sweden and European Investment Bank have already delivered policies hailed by international advocacy groups as meeting the high bar of the Glasgow statement. While the United States government has introduced policies to address the statement, it has released few details about how those policies are being implemented.
Levin said that Canada is showing leadership. "We're joining the group of first movers who are aligning international public spending with the climate commitments," she said.
Advocacy groups praised the policy, with organizations including the International Institute for Sustainable Development, the Center for International Environmental Law, Climate Action Network, Amnesty International Canada and others calling it an important step forward.
"Oil and gas is usually the elephant in the room in Canadian climate policy," Claire O'Manique, a public finance analyst at Oil Change International, said in a statement. "Today's guidance is a notable break from this norm."
The policy is not without loopholes. An international project could be supported for reasons of national security or humanitarian and emergency response, and a government could decide to take a broad definition of either.
But even under such circumstances, the project would need to abide by criteria including compliance with the goals of the Paris Agreement and proof that it will not "delay or diminish the transition to renewables." It would also have to be coherent with the goal to keep global temperature levels no higher than 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels.
A narrow carveout for natural gas power generation includes the additional criteria that there be no viable renewable alternative to the project and that it is replacing a higher-emitting fuel source.
The government defines the criteria around these exceptions as "strict," and Levin agreed that they are robust. "If these conditions are implemented with rigour and integrity, it really rules out any future fossil financing for natural gas," she said.
Thursday's announcement does not cover domestic projects and, Natural Resources Canada said in a statement, does not "pre-determine the government of Canada's future domestic framework on fossil-fuel subsidies."
The department says Ottawa intends to eliminate "inefficient" domestic fossil fuel subsidies and additional "significant" subsidies domestically by next year, but details are few and far between.
"I was hoping with the release of this policy, they would outline the next steps. I was disappointed that that wasn’t there," Levin said. "Projects in Canada are just as destructive as projects abroad. But this policy sets us up well for a strong domestic financing policy and I look forward to seeing the next steps in the immediate future."
Reacting to the policy Thursday evening, the federal NDP noted that the elimination of international public financing for fossil fuel projects was part of its confidence-and-supply agreement with the Liberals, in which the party agreed to support the minority government in key votes until 2025.
"This wouldn't have happened if the NDP weren't at the table pushing for a better climate plan for Canadians. But the Liberals are still giving Canadians’ money to the ultra-rich CEOs who run massive, profitable oil and gas companies in Canada," environment critic Laurel Collins said in a statement.
Collins said the policy is "too little, too late" and is calling on Ottawa to end all fossil fuel subsidies, period, including at home.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 8, 2022.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
Who is supporting, opposing new online harms bill?
Now that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's sweeping online harms legislation is before Parliament, allowing key stakeholders, major platforms, and Canadians with direct personal experience with abuse to dig in and see what's being proposed, reaction is streaming in. CTVNews.ca has rounded up reaction, and here's how Bill C-63 is going over.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Person on fire outside Trump's hush money trial rushed away on a stretcher
A person who was on fire in a park outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump’s hush money trial is taking place has been rushed away on a stretcher.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
Senators reject field trip to African Lion Safari amid elephant bill study
The Senate legal affairs committee has rejected a motion calling for members to take a $50,000 field trip to the African Lion Safari in southern Ontario to see the zoo's elephant exhibit.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.
Police in Paris detain a man wearing fake explosives vest at Iran's Consulate
A man wearing a fake explosive vest and making threats was detained Friday outside the Iranian Consulate in Paris after police locked down the area, authorities said. His motive was unclear.
CFIA monitoring for avian flu in Canadian dairy cattle after U.S. discoveries
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is encouraging veterinarians to keep an eye out for signs of avian influenza in dairy cattle following recent discoveries of cases of the disease in U.S. cow herds.
Local Spotlight
UBC football star turning heads in lead up to NFL draft
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Cat found at Pearson airport 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly on a mission: N.S. student collecting books about women in sport for school library
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Where did the gold go? Crime expert weighs in on unfolding Pearson airport heist investigation
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
Marmot in the city: New resident of North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale a 'rock star rodent'
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
Relocated seal returns to Greater Victoria after 'astonishing' 204-kilometre trek
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Ottawa barber shop steps away from Parliament Hill marks 100 years in business
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
'It was a special game': Edmonton pinball player celebrates high score and shout out from game designer
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
'How much time do we have?': 'Contamination' in Prairie groundwater identified
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.