Thursday was a big day for Canada at COP26 — the country pledged to end foreign fossil fuel finance by 2022 and Quebec signed on to the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance — but observers are disappointed the country isn’t moving faster to ditch the planet’s dirtiest fossil fuel: coal.
The groups behind the push say the federal government's current promise of ending exports by 2030 isn't soon enough to keep global warming below 1.5 C.
Newly minted Climate Minister Steven Guilbeault is “cautiously optimistic” about the success of upcoming United Nations talks, he said at a press conference Friday.
On Sept. 8 and 9, up to 100 debates on the environment will take place across Canada, giving voters a chance to see where their candidates stand on environmental policy.
At a time when climate science demands a rapid transition off fossil fuels, Ottawa approved more than $1.3 billion for oil and gas companies through the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy.
Proposals for new mines, power plants, pipelines or railways in Canada will have to include plans to hit "net zero" emissions by 2050 if they have any hope of getting approved.
Ottawa should end fossil fuel subsidies, strengthen carbon pricing, raise taxes on the wealthy and direct the windfall into retraining oil and gas workers for low-carbon-economy jobs, says a coalition of civil society leaders.
Canada's promise to produce an inventory of its fossil fuel subsidies as part of a joint peer review with Argentina appears to be off schedule and may not deliver results until 2021, an environmental advocate says.