SDG 7: Affordable and clean energy

How the Government of Canada contributes

The Government of Canada is committed to working with partners to develop and implement strategies to decarbonize regional electricity systems, grow the market for clean fuels and transform Canada's building stock for the climate era.

Canada's strengthened climate plan, A Healthy Environment and a Healthy Economy, as well as the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan build on the Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change. It is the federal plan to build a better future with a healthier economy and environment, helping to make life more affordable for households, make Canadian communities more livable, and ensure a focus on workers and their careers in a stronger and cleaner economy. Through the plan, Canada is expanding the supply of clean electricity through investments in renewable and next generation clean energy and technology; provide incentives to make clean energy and technology more affordable and improve the energy efficiency of Canadian homes and buildings; incent the uptake of technologies that reduce the carbon intensity of liquid fuels and invest in clean fuels production; and support the transition of Indigenous and northern communities to clean, renewable and reliable energy.

The Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program supports energy security in communities in the North, including Indigenous communities, by investing in upgrades to existing fossil-fuel-based energy systems, as well as supplementing or replacing these systems with renewable energy options, improving energy reliability and efficiency and reducing pollution. It also supports projects that increase capacity to manage more renewable energy, improve access to clean energy transportation, increase the energy efficiency of buildings, and improve the production of clean energy.

The Government of Canada collaborated with stakeholders including industry, other levels of government, Indigenous organizations, non-government organizations and academia to develop the Hydrogen Strategy for Canada, a call to action to position Canada to seize environmental and economic opportunities that exist across the country. The government is now working on an implementation plan with stakeholders. The Clean Fuels Fund, a $1.5 billion investment in the clean fuels sector, is one of many federal initiatives supporting this strategy.

Canada is also working to enhance energy security and efficiency and to accelerate the pace of the clean and inclusive energy transition around the world. As a founding member of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Canada actively supports the development of net-zero roadmaps—tracking progress, enhancing its assistance to priority countries, leveraging its expertise through data, supporting modelling and analysis, and providing policy advice to IEA member governments and key emitters. Recognizing the importance of an inclusive and equitable clean transition, Canada is a strong advocate of a people-centred approach and was an active member of the IEA's Global Commission on People-Centred Clean Energy Transitions.

Canada is a member of the Clean Energy Ministerial, which brings together 29 countries and the European Union to accelerate progress on energy efficiency, clean energy supply and clean energy access. Canada also advances its clean energy agenda through the Group of Seven (G7) and Group of Twenty (G20).

The Powering Past Coal Alliance, co-founded and co-chaired by Canada and the UK, is the world's leading initiative seeking to accelerate clean growth and climate protection through the rapid phase-out of unabated coal power. As of November 2021, the alliance has over 165 members, including national governments, sub-national governments and organizations. It is committed to just transition and an economically-inclusive phase-out of coal through its Just Transition Taskforce. Domestically, Canada has committed to phasing out traditional coal-fired electricity by 2030 and with new regulations in place, will end exports of thermal coal by 2030.

At the 26^th Conference of the Parties (COP26) climate summit in November 2021, the Prime Minister announced up to $1 billion for the Climate Investment Funds Accelerated Coal Transition Investment Program through Canada's international climate finance contribution. This investment will help developing countries transition from coal-fired electricity to clean power as quickly as possible. Also at COP26, Canada, together with 39 other countries, development institutions, and multilateral development banks, committed to end new direct public support for the international unabated fossil fuel energy sector by the end of 2022 and prioritize spending on clean energy.

Canada is a founding member of Mission Innovation, an initiative among 23 governments launched in 2015 to enhance collaboration and catalyze action and investment in research, development and demonstration to make clean energy affordable, attractive and accessible for all. Mission Innovation 2.0 was launched in June 2021 and Canada continues to play a leadership role, notably by co-leading the Carbon Dioxide Removal Mission, and participating in the Green Power and Clean Hydrogen Missions.

Finally, Canada is a member of the International Renewable Energy Agency, an intergovernmental organization with more than 160 member countries dedicated to producing energy from clean, sustainable energy sources. Canada recently contributed to the launch of a Multi-stakeholder Platform for Transitioning Remote Communities to Renewable Energy, which will serve as a global communication platform on the topic of energy transitions for remote communities.