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441-02495 (Environment)

Paper petition

Original language of petition: English

Petition to the House of Commons

Whereas:

  • Climate change is harming communities across Canada through rising temperatures, extreme weather events and rising costs;
  • 80% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions globally are caused by burning fossil fuel;
  • The IPCC and International Energy Agency have both shown that fossil fuel expansion is incompatible with keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees, in line with the Paris Agreement;
  • The IPCC ranks carbon capture used in fossil fuels as the most expensive and least effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
  • Canada's banks are some of the world's biggest funders of fossil fuels;
  • Canada has $100 billion of fossil-fuel related assets at risk of becoming stranded by 2036; and
  • In order to reach a net-zero energy system, Canada needs to finance clean energy at four times the rate of fossil fuels, but currently banks finance fossil fuels at almost four times the rate of clean energy.

We, the undersigned residents of Canada call upon the House of Commons to ensure a taxonomy of sustainable finance in Canada:

1. Exclude all fossil fuel related projects, including CCUS for oil and gas;

2. Be credibly aligned with the Paris Agreement and keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees;

3. Be developed in consultation with independent climate expertise;

4. Only include projects which respect the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of impacted Indigenous communities and the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), as well as advancing sustainable labour practices and a just transition;

5. Require eligible projects or companies to have a science-based and credible climate transition plan; and

6. Link to other regulations, such as fund naming and securities regulations, to ensure the guidance from the Taxonomy can be enforced and is effective at mitigating greenwashing.

Response by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable Chrystia Freeland

The Government of Canada thanks the petitioners for expressing their views about a sustainable finance taxonomy in Canada.

The government recognizes the importance of promoting credible climate investment to protect the integrity and fairness of the clean economy. This is critical for fostering investor confidence and mobilizing the private investment that Canada needs to help achieve a net-zero economy by 2050.

As announced in the 2023 Fall Economic Statement, the Department of Finance Canada is working with Environment and Climate Change Canada and Natural Resources Canada to undertake next steps, in consultation with regulatory agencies, the financial sector, industry, and independent experts, to develop a taxonomy that is aligned with reaching net-zero by 2050.

This work is being informed by the Sustainable Finance Action Council’s Taxonomy Roadmap Report, which provided the government with recommendations on the design of a taxonomy to identify economic activities that the financial sector could label as “green” or “transition.”  The government will provide an update on the development of a Canadian taxonomy later this year.

In July 2023, Canada released the Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies Government of Canada Self-Review Assessment Framework and the Inefficient Fossil Fuel Subsidies Government of Canada Guidelines. Canada is the first country to release a rigorous analytical guide that both fulfills our commitment and transparently supports action, and the only G20 country to phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies ahead of the 2025 deadline. By eliminating inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, the Government of Canada is enabling greater support for clean technology, clean growth, and accelerated efforts to decarbonize important Canadian industries.

Presented to the House of Commons
Leah Taylor Roy (Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill)
May 29, 2024 (Petition No. 441-02495)
Government response tabled
August 21, 2024
Photo - Leah Taylor Roy
Aurora—Oak Ridges—Richmond Hill
Liberal Caucus
Ontario

26 signatures

Only validated signatures are counted towards the total number of signatures.