At the end of COP27, held November 6-18 in Egypt, environmental groups argue that the federal government’s contribution to the negotiations has not matched the climate crisis, and that Canada remains “a country oil company that defends oil interests”.
Despite successes, such as the creation of a Loss and Damage Fund to support developing countries affected by the catastrophic effects of climate change, Canada has not been particularly ambitious in its measures and objectives during the agreement.
“We know that Canada has been vocal on this issue, it’s a good move and we salute it, recognizes Andréanne Brazeau, political analyst at Équiterre. On the other hand, we deplore the fact that developed countries, including Canada, continue to feed the problem at the source of the climate crisis, namely fossil fuels”.
According to Équiterre, the Canadian representatives would not have made “any significant announcement” to catch up on its climate delay, and would rather have “fueled the fire”.
“For the first time in 27 Conferences of the Parties, Canada had its pavilion, meaning that it could put forward discussions and events. He chose to invite representatives from the Canadian fossil fuel industry; it’s simply unacceptable,” said Ms.me Brazeau.
She adds that this gesture has only given a showcase to “false solutions” from an industry that claims to be increasingly clean based on technological means that have “not been proven”.
“We come to put forward technological solutions rather reduction at the source, that is to say the profound changes that we must make in our economy and our society to get out of oil”, specifies- she.
Fourth largest oil producer in the world
Without mincing words, the Équiterre political analyst asserts that Canada is, even today, “absolutely a petro-state”.
“The Canadian government is committed to ending public funding of fossil fuels internationally by the end of 2022, and at home by the end of 2023. There is still no trace of that and no concrete progress, at least none that is public,” underlines Andréanne Brazeau.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was not present at COP27. The Climate Change Performance Index, a report released during COP27, ranks Canada 58e world rank out of 63 countries and government entities.
For Patrick Bonin, responsible for the Climate-Energy campaign for Greenpeace Canada, the federal government’s effort in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a “failure”, adding that Canada is currently “not on the right way “.
“It has not proposed, for example, more ambitious targets for the reduction of its greenhouse gases, nor significant measures to fuel the fight against climate change,” he laments. […] There hasn’t even been a recognition that fossil fuels need to be reduced quickly, when the science is very clear about that”.
Conversely, he believes that the European Union stood out by committing to setting more ambitious GHG reduction targets, unlike Canada, which “hesitated a lot before recognizing the insertion of the words ‘fossil fuels ” in the final text”.
“Unfortunately, it is a performance worthy of an oil country which is still far too much under the influence of the oil and gas lobbies. […] Canada can and must do much more than what we saw in Egypt, which are essentially half measures”.
While Canadian authorities are aiming for a 40% reduction in emissions by 2030, they also plan to increase oil production by 5%, a “major inconsistency” according to Équiterre.
Patrick Bonin also recalls that developed countries have still not honored their promise to provide financial support of 100 billion per year for developing countries, as they announced in 2009.
He adds that the costs generated by the effects of the climate crisis are expected to approach 200 to 500 billion by 2030 and that the creation of the Fund for loss and damage was essential to “absorb” the disasters that will continue to befall more vulnerable countries.
Some 30,000 people attended COP27, including representatives from governments, businesses, NGOs and civil society groups.