
Recovery Through Reform: Assessing the climate compatibility of Canada's COVID-19 response in 2020
-
According to the Energy Policy Tracker, from March to December 2020, the federal government had committed at least CAD 14.7 billion to "clean" energy, compared to CAD 3.6 billion for "fossil" energy and CAD 4.7 billion for "other" energy.
-
Less transparent and available data is available for "fossil energy" commitments in Canada, making it significantly harder to track.
-
In 2020, government made significant announcements for building retrofits, electric vehicles, public transit, and more. However, some pledges are below best practices in other countries who are leading on green recovery, and trends in fossil fuel support are concerning.
Governments around the world are leveraging unprecedented amounts of capital to respond to the pandemic and bailing out struggling industries. Trends in energy-related spending indicate that despite the green push, the world’s largest economies have still favoured fossil energy over clean energy.
We evaluate energy-related spending in Canada in 2020 (since the onset of COVID-19), using data from the Energy Policy Tracker. Trends in Canada are then compared to flagship policies in key jurisdictions with recent progressive climate policy announcements, including France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The brief ends with broad recommendations on how Canada can better align its recovery funding with climate action and fossil fuel subsidy reform.
This brief is one of three International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) policy briefs in its Recovery Through Reform series, which assesses how efforts to achieve a green recovery from COVID-19 in Canada rely on—and can contribute to—fossil fuel subsidy reform.
Participating experts
Funded by
You might also be interested in
Canada is sitting on 12 'carbon bombs.' Here's where they are
Just under the surface of B.C. and Alberta, in a rock formation known as the Montney Play, lies enough potential greenhouse gases to blow past Canada's 2030 emissions targets 30 times over. It's one of 12 fossil fuel reserves researchers in the journal Energy Policy have identified in Canada — called "carbon bombs" — that would each release a billion tonnes or more of carbon into the atmosphere if their resources were extracted and burned. This would be catastrophic for the world's efforts to slow rising global temperatures, the authors argue.
Record oil profits 'enough to make you ball up your fists,' says N.L. minister
After handing oil companies more than $280 million in cash during the COVID-19 pandemic, Newfoundland and Labrador’s energy minister says it’s tough to watch those same companies rake in record-shattering profits.
LNG the wrong choice at the wrong time for B.C.
As 2023 begins, B.C. Premier David Eby and his new cabinet are setting priorities and determining which policies of the Horgan government to carry forward and which to cast aside. Liquefied natural gas exports touch on a host of critical issues that Eby and key ministers are considering.
Feds' sustainable jobs plan a good start, but too soft on emissions reductions, say environmental experts
The federal government released its interim Sustainable Jobs Plan on Feb. 17, which will guide efforts to help transition workers away from the fossil-fuel industry and toward clean energy.