Letter to Ministers Wilkinson and Gould

Regarding international climate change action financing

Dear Ministers,

We are writing to you today regarding the important role Canada plays in international climate financing and would like to emphasize some key recommendations which must be reflected in Canada’s next five-year International Climate Finance package.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges in our time. Those living in developing countries are particularly vulnerable and hard hit by climate change. Canada must commit to transformational financial investments to help communities around the world better address climate change through gender-sensitive climate action.

In April 2019, the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development released its 19th report, Clean Growth and Climate Change: How Canada Can Lead Internationally. We would like to highlight four key recommendations from that report:

• Recommendation 9 - The committee recommends that the Government of Canada embark on a process to identify Canadian non-governmental organizations and local civil society organizations capable of delivering effective projects to support adaptation and vulnerable populations in other countries, and help these organizations access Canadian and international climate finance funds.
• Recommendation 10 - The committee recommends that the Government of Canada increase the proportion of its climate finance funding that is dedicated to adaptation measures to 50%.
• Recommendation 11 - The committee recommends that the Government of Canada ensure that a greater amount of the climate finance is given as grants and not just as loans, given the difficulty of repayment for many of the poorest and most vulnerable states.
• Recommendation 12 - The committee recommends that the Government of Canada increase its climate finance further in future years with the goal of arriving at Canada's “fair share” of global climate finance based on the size of its economy; approximately $1.8 billion annually.

We believe these four recommendations are critical and should inform decisions regarding Canada’s next five-year International Climate Finance package.

We look forward to working with you. Should you wish to discuss these recommendations any further, we are happy to make ourselves available.

We wish the best of health to you and your families.

Sincerely,

Heather McPherson, MP Edmonton Strathcona, NDP Critic for International Development

Laurel Collins, MP Victoria, NDP Critic for Environment and Climate Change