With December around the corner, his office insists the goal will be met.
“The federal government remains committed and on track to phase out international fossil fuel funding by the end of 2022,” Wilkinson spokesman Keean Nembhard said when asked about the state of policy guidance. .
The promise, announced on November 4, 2021teased vague exemptions “in limited and clearly defined circumstances” for projects “consistent” with the objectives of the Paris Agreement or compatible with the Warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius.
An alliance of countries, led by the UK and the European Investment Bank, spearheaded the COP26 initiative. They pointed out at the time that the commitment was designed to be “uncomfortable”.
Ottawa has offered few details on how it plans to phase out public funding of the foreign fossil fuel sector.
So far, it is unclear what will happen to the long-term contracts or what timelines the government will use to end new direct funding for the sector.
The policy was still being drafted in September. “Our intention is certainly to complete this work before the end of the year,” Wilkinson told POLITICO Pro at the time.
After the COP26 pledge, the Liberals hit the campaign trail with a promise to fast-track a G-20 commitment and eliminate fossil fuel subsidies by 2023.
Neither the natural resource departments nor the finance departments would confirm whether the policy guidance related to COP26 has been finalized, nor provide an update on the process.
The documents were obtained by POLITICO Pro using an Access to Information request to see what is happening in fulfilling the commitment. It shows the back and forth between departments and agencies and gives insight into the difficulty of putting departments and agencies on the same page, even on a single press release announcing the COP26 engagement.
Achieving a COP commitment: The 150 page document shows a series of revisions that shaped the public presentation of the COP26 promise. It traces how a draft titled “Canada Commits to Phase Out Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies by 2022” evolved into a more detailed final version: “Canada Announces Commitment to End New Public Support direct to the international fossil fuel sector unabated by the end of 2022.”
“Ineffective” has been crossed out as there is currently no official definition of the term.
The Canadian government first suggested that a policy directive would be developed “in the coming months”. The timeline has been removed from the final public release.
The documents suggest that the federal Department of the Environment and the Department of Natural Resources disagreed on how to promote the pledge. Historically, the departments have not worked well together, sometimes issuing incompatible reports and climate targets.
Natural Resources released the documents that reveal changes and revisions within their department. A comment flagged comments from the Department of the Environment, requesting that the announcement include a line to clarify that “Canada will no longer provide support through trade promotion and development assistance.”
The suggestion was rejected.
An unidentified official ignored the request, writing: “I think it would be prudent to stay general and say that the government will develop a plan in the near future.
— What else was rubbed: Earlier versions mentioned Export Development Canada in more detail. The state corporation has a mandate to support domestic companies that export overseas.
The only mention of EDC in the release indicates that it has committed to achieving net zero goals in July 2021. Documents show that EDC had wanted to refer to the fact that its policy no longer provides new financing to companies. and foreign fossil fuel projects.
EDC asked Natural Resources to include a line explaining that it “will continue to support Canadian exporters who provide products, services or technologies that help reduce the carbon footprint of these international companies.”
The line was rejected, although it later appeared recycled in a net zero report released by EDC this summer.