Last year, the Canadian government provided at least $29 billion in financing to fossil fuels and petrochemical companies, marking a record high in subsidy level to date. This substantial financial support raises concern about Canada’s commitment to its climate goals, all the while encouraging a continued reliance on fossil fuels.
These recent reports by Environmental Defence Canada highlight the lack of transparency and accountability in subsidy reporting, especially due to the fact that these substantial financial supports persist, despite previous federal commitments to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies. To boast, the government continues to invest in large-scale fossil fuel projects, most notably the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, which is both significantly behind schedule and severely over budget, and received the greatest amount of financial support. Of the $29.6 billion total, $7.53 billion went toward supporting companies developing liquefied natural gas projects, oil and gas exploration and production, and carbon capture, and the remaining was directed toward the pipeline project.
The Canadian government's ongoing substantial financial support of the fossil fuel industry contradicts climate commitments, and illustrates the gap between energy and climate policy, and actions. This disconnect makes it evident that there is growing need for transparency and a reevaluation of how public funds are allocated, and aligned to larger environmental objectives. It’s time to face the facts: Canada cannot claim to be battling the climate crisis while also continuing to spend billions of dollars on fossil fuel subsidies. These financial decisions represent a major impediment to the transformative change needed to actually achieve climate action.
Written by Sabrina Careri, for Ann Dale
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