Canada’s COP30 Roundup

Canada forges ahead with climate competitiveness agenda

The United Nation’s 30^th Conference of the Parties (COP) officially wrapped up over the weekend in Belém, Brazil. As countries worked to find consensus on an agreement to tackle climate change, this year, the final text included a new goal to triple climate adaptation financing and created a mechanism for a just transition toward cleaner energy. Contentious among the signing parties, the document ultimately left out language around transitioning away from fossil fuels and ending deforestation.

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Julie Dabrusin led Canada’s delegation this year, emphasizing that climate action and economic prosperity go hand-in-hand. Canada also announced $392M of investment for international climate action projects, and continued to promote its recent Climate Competitiveness Strategy.

Key commitments from Canada include:

• Endorsement of the Belém 4x Initiative, which commits to quadruple the use of sustainable fuels, such as sustainable biofuels, clean hydrogen, e-fuels and e-methane, by 2035 (from 2024 baseline levels).
  • The Belém 4X initiative will be implemented through the Future Fuels Action Plan. The Action Plan extends from three pillars: Increased demand for, and use of, future fuels; Integrated global supply chains for Future Fuels; and Common and transparent standards for lifecycle carbon accounting and sustainability of fuels.
• Endorsement of the Declaration of the Open Coalition on Compliance Carbon Markets, a collaborative forum to exchange views on carbon pricing mechanisms, carbon accounting methodologies, and best practices on the potential use of high integrity offset Credits.
  • Aligned with this initiative, Canada announced its intention to join the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets – a partnership with states such as the United Kingdom, France, and Singapore which aims to enhance demand for high-integrity carbon credits and increase private investment in greenhouse gas mitigation.
• Endorsement of the Drastically Reducing Methane Emissions in the Global Fossil Fuel Sector statement.
  • This endorsement builds off Canada’s previous commitments at the international and domestic level, as the government recently confirmed in Budget 2025 that it will finalize enhanced methane regulations for the oil and gas sector, and new regulations for landfill methane emissions.
  • Canada is a co-convener of the Global Methane Pledge to reduce collective methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030.
• Endorsement of the Global Clean Power Alliance Supply Chains Mission Visionthat commits to accelerating the global clean energy transition through the Global Clean Power Alliance Supply Chains Mission.
• Endorsement of the Call to Action on Integrated Fire Management and Wildfire Resilienceto advance international cooperation on emergency preparedness and response. Canada also signed a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding with Brazil on Integrated Fire Management.
• Endorsement of Tropical Forest Forever Facility declaration, an initiative that mobilizes public and private investment to conserve rainforests with 20% of funds reserved for Indigenous peoples.
• Endorsement of the Global Initiative for Information Integrity on Climate Change to coordinate international research and action on climate misinformation and disinformation.

These commitments build upon continuous work and consensus-building by Canada and all participating countries, including through pre-COP events and summits. They are also reflective of the current domestic focus on clean fuels policy and carbon market mechanisms to support the uptake of clean energy. Canadian stakeholders are currently waiting on proposed targeted amendments to the federal Clean Fuel Regulations that will look to support the domestic biofuels industry while maintaining emissions reductions goals.

Overall, these COP30 initiatives reinforce the perception of the Carney government’s approach to climate policy as pragmatic and highly focused on economic competitiveness. Canada’s engagement at the conference is reflective of the recent domestic policy shift away from the consumer carbon tax and toward industrial carbon pricing amendments, financial incentives, and investment-driven clean growth. Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether this new strategy will indeed catalyze private-sector investment in Canada’s clean energy economy, and at the speed and scale needed to match Canada’s ambitious emissions reduction targets. PAA continues to monitor whether this strategy will move the needle.