The study found EDC “unaligned” with the Paris Agreement, which strives to hold global warming to no more than 1.5 C, and gave the EDC the worst of four possible rankings.
Since Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office, EDC has increased investment in fossil fuels by 3.7 per cent from its annual average amount between 2016 and 2018.
At the centre of the study is a call for Canada to acknowledge the choice it faces.
If EDC’s financing is considered a subsidy, it could be phased out by the end of 2023 as part of the government’s promise to eliminate fossil fuel subsidies.
The study’s authors also urge the federal government to create a cross-department steering committee for EDC to improve oversight and ensure progress.
EDC said it believed the findings were “inconsistent” with its track record but could not point to anything incorrect.
Moreover, “EDC’s commitment to and path toward net-zero emissions by 2050 are aligned with the Government of Canada and the Paris Agreement,” she said.However, net-zero by 2050 and the Paris Agreement goal of holding onto 1.5 C are two totally separate objectives.
EDC says it is phasing out its support for fossil fuels and, for the first time, has put more into cleantech than oil, gas and coal.
Those figures come with a major caveat.
Environmental Defence senior program manager Julia Levin says Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland has an important role to play in aligning EDC with credible climate goals.
High among the many tools Canada is missing to pull off an equitable energy transition is a carbon budget.
In a nutshell, a carbon budget would calculate how much more carbon dioxide the atmosphere can take before warming is pushed past 1.5 C, then work backwards to figure out each country’s fair share.