Statement by Julia Levin, Associate Director, National Climate

Ottawa | Traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg People – Yesterday crown corporation Export Development Canada confirmed it will provide $500 million for Cedar LNG. 

This move contradicts the federal government’s commitment to the Canadian public about ending the use of public money to fund fossil fuels.  

Communities across the country and the world are facing the harsh and deadly impacts of the climate crisis. The science is clear, we need to stop expanding fossil fuels. We cannot address the climate crisis as long as governments continue to fund its very cause. Instead, governments in Canada should be using public money to transition to renewable energy, which is key to a safer, more affordable and healthier future. 

More information

• Earlier this month, a coalition of concerned environmental organizations had sent a letter to Minister Freeland and Mairead Lavery, President and CEO of Export Development Canada, urging them to reject the financing proposal. 
• The Government of Canada first committed to ending domestic public financing for fossil fuels in 2021 and is currently in the process of developing a policy to do so. It has repeatedly reiterated its commitment to publish this policy in the coming months, by fall 2024, most recently articulated in April in Budget 2024.
• According to Clean Energy Canada, Cedar LNG will generate over 9 million tonnes of climate pollution each year.

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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

Midhat Moini, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca