The Global Commission on the Economy and Climate estimates that by 2030-just over a decade from now-the global market for low-carbon solutions will be worth $26 trillion, creating strong growth and as many as 65 million jobs around the world. That's good news for the businesses, people and communities who want to succeed while polluting less and protecting the environment for future generations.
For Canada, this marks a once-in-a-generation opportunity to lead the world in creating those solutions. To fully realize this opportunity, Canada's innovators need the right financial support.
In 2018, the Government created the Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance to investigate ways the financial sector can help encourage and direct these funds to low-carbon Canadian initiatives.
Today, the Government accepted the Panel's final report, which contains 15 recommendations outlining opportunities for sustainable growth. The Government thanks the Panel for their diligence and effort, and will engage with provincial and municipal partners as it looks closely at the recommendations.
The Government is also pleased to announce that Minister of Finance Bill Morneau has joined the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action. The Coalition serves as a forum for Finance Ministers to promote climate action and share experiences on related fiscal policies and practices. As the Expert Panel's report illustrates, the financial sector has an important role to help accelerate the transition to a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy.
"Many of the investments we've made-in skills training, education, business growth-have been about unlocking Canadians' potential. The same can be said for our investments in the low-carbon Canadian economy, one that can create hundreds of thousands of new green jobs and generate even more prosperity for families. I want to thank the Expert Panel for their insight into how we can best tap into that potential through financial institutions and investment funds, and we look forward to working with the finance community and all Canadians to help position us as a global low-carbon leader."
- Bill Morneau, Minister of Finance
"In the face of climate change, we have to make sustainable finance a priority. This is about opportunities for Canadian inventors and entrepreneurs who have the solutions the world needs-to make sure they're getting the financial backing they need to compete and win in the $26 trillion global market for clean solutions. It's also about making sure we invest in the clean economy now, so that we can attract the clean jobs of the future. At the heart of it all, it's about working together to make sure we're building a sustainable Canadian future and leaving a healthy and prosperous Canada to our kids and grandkids."
- Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change
"The financial sector is not going to solve climate change, but the things that are-innovation, clean electricity, deep building retrofits, climate-resilient infrastructure and more-all require investment, and that's where finance is critical. For Canada to be competitive in a world that is increasingly concerned about sound environmental stewardship, sustainable finance needs to become business as usual in the Canadian financial services industry."
- Tiff Macklem, Chair of the Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance
Quick facts
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In the Bank of Canada's 2019 Financial System Review, climate change was listed as one of the main vulnerabilities facing Canada's economy.
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Extreme weather caused $1.9 billion of insured damage across Canada in 2018, up 500 per cent since the 1990s, and it is expected to cost as much as $43 billion a year by 2050.
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The Expert Panel engaged with hundreds of Canadians from across industries, governments, regulators, think tanks and academia in preparing its reports.
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The final report's 15 recommendations fall under three pillars: The Opportunity, Foundations for Market Scale, and Financial Products and Markets for Sustainable Growth.
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The Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action was launched during the World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings in April 2019.
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Chaired by Chile and Finland, the Coalition has endorsed a set of six common principles that promote climate action, especially through fiscal policy and the use of public finance.
