Canada joins pledge to end public fossil fuel finance, shift resources to renewables

Canada has joined the United States, United Kingdom and 21 other countries in a historic deal to stop new direct public finance for coal, oil and gas development by the end of 2022 and shift investment to renewable energy.

“It's a big deal,” said federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson from Glasgow, Scotland, the site of a United Nations-sponsored meeting on climate change.

“It's a signal that many countries in this world are making this commitment not to use public resources to finance further exploration and development for fossil fuels.”

Climate activists welcomed the deal.

“It shows that Canada recognizes the harmful social and economic impacts of fossil fuels and the urgent need to end global production and use,” said Alan Andrews of Ecojustice, an environmental law firm.