15 June 2020
Last month, a report revealed Canada has become the second-largest public financier of fossil fuels in the G20, second only to China. On a per-capita basis, Canada’s public finance for fossil fuels between 2016 and 2018 was the highest of any country, and all of this support came from federal agency Export Development Canada (EDC).
Now new research commissioned by Above Ground and Oil Change International identifies policy and legal reforms needed to shift Canada’s export bank to a supportive role in the transition to a low-carbon economy. Drawing on expert analysis and international best practices, the report from Horizon Advisors presents 17 recommendations to bring EDC’s business in line with Canada’s climate commitments.
Horizon Advisors’ key recommendations include:
- prohibiting EDC from supporting new fossil fuel energy projects domestically or internationally, including new fossil fuel infrastructure;
- requiring that EDC commit to a climate rights regime, through reforms to the agency’s governing legislation;
- shifting EDC’s support from carbon-intensive projects to lower-carbon and renewable alternatives;
- stress-testing EDC’s financing decisions against Canada’s climate goals, notably its 2030 and 2050 emissions targets;
- making comprehensive climate-related risk disclosure mandatory for all federal institutions, including EDC; and
- strengthening EDC’s support for clean technology, including through revised eligibility criteria for support issued though the Canada Account.
The full report and recommendations are available here.
