{"id":68923,"date":"2025-03-13T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-13T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/?p=68923"},"modified":"2025-03-12T20:42:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-13T00:42:05","slug":"groups-send-open-letter-to-carney-urging-forward-thinking-policy-to-future-proof-the-canadian-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/press-release\/68923\/groups-send-open-letter-to-carney-urging-forward-thinking-policy-to-future-proof-the-canadian-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Groups send open letter to Carney, urging forward-thinking policy to future-proof the Canadian economy \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

OTTAWA\/TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE \u2014 <\/strong>Today, climate-concerned organizations from across Canada published an open letter to Mark Carney, calling on the newly elected Prime Minister-designate to future-proof the Canadian economy by putting forward climate-aligned finance policy.  <\/p>\n\n

The letter, signed by 57 organizations and individuals, calls on Canada\u2019s next Prime Minister to make good on his record of inviting financial actors to the climate problem-solving table and take the necessary next step of championing legislation that legally requires their alignment with a stable, climate-safe future ahead of an upcoming federal election.    <\/p>\n\n

The signatories, which include some of the largest environmental organizations in Canada, highlight both Carney\u2019s achievements and lessons that can be drawn from his time at the UN, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Canada. The groups argue that he has had a front row seat to the importance of protecting our nation\u2019s long-term financial stability with strong regulations.  <\/p>\n\n

“You were the clarion call for climate action in the financial system, and we need you to once again be the sensible voice,\u201d the letter states. \u201cDr. Carney, are you willing to stand up to the U.S. administration and regulate our way out of costly unsustainable finance? Will you introduce the necessary incentives to ensure that Canada doesn\u2019t fall further into the \u201ctragedy of the horizon\u201d that sacrifices future generations on the altar of short-term profit?” <\/p>\n\n

The letter highlights that Canada\u2019s Big Six banks continue to lag behind world-leading institutions when it comes to climate alignment \u2014 pointing to their recent mass exodus<\/a> from the UN-backed Net-Zero Banking Alliance pledge, behind which Carney was the driving force.    <\/p>\n\n

Groups add that the last few months have put the failures of Canadian banks\u2019 self-regulation on full display: \u201cOur financial institutions have proven the intrinsic limits of self-regulation \u2014 making it clear that voluntary commitments will not position Canada to build the strong economy we need to meet the costly threats of climate change, affordability, and disruptive actions south of our border.\u201d   <\/p>\n\n

More than a thousand people have already called on leaders of Canada\u2019s federal parties<\/a> to include climate-aligned finance policy in their respective election platforms. <\/p>\n\n

Karine Peloffy, Sustainable Finance Lead at Ecojustice said:<\/strong> \u201cAs Canada braces to weather the literal storms of a changing climate, as well as economic and political storms, we are looking to our next Prime Minister to meet the moment with courage and forward-looking leadership. Dr. Carney himself has warned<\/a> that Canada is a global laggard on climate-related financial policy. There is an urgent and overdue need to modernize our financial system into one that works for<\/em> us, not against us. We are counting on Prime Minister-designate Carney to put forward climate-aligned finance legislation that will help Canada leapfrog the U.S. to clean energy and genuinely future-proof our economy.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

Grand(m)others Act To Save The Planet (GASP) <\/strong>agrees that climate change is the “ultimate betrayal of intergenerational equity.”  We cannot leave future generations with a massive environmental deficit. That\u2019s why we urge the federal government to pass policies that require all Canadian financial institutions to align their lending and investments with Canada\u2019s climate goals. <\/p>\n\n

Keith Stewart, senior energy strategist with Greenpeace Canada said:<\/strong> \u201cWith Canadian banks\u2019 exodus from the UN-backed climate club that Carney helped create, the limitations of relying on banks to do the right thing voluntarily is unmistakable. Just like after the financial crashes of 1929 and 2008, we need governments to step in to save the banks from their own short-sightedness by requiring them to align their lending with our climate goals. This means shifting loans and investments out of fossil fuels and into climate solutions.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

B\u00e9atrice Vaugrante, executive director of Oxfam-Qu\u00e9bec said: <\/strong>\u201cOxfam-Qu\u00e9bec sees every day the devastating impact of climate change on populations and communities who already face multiple other crises like food insecurity and rising armed conflicts. Mark Carney must ensure that the economic responses from Canada and the provinces are enshrined in genuine engagement for inclusive sustainable finance by reinforcing legislation to oblige banks to act, and committing to Paris agreement and international human rights and humanitarian law so crises stop to expand\u2019\u2019 <\/p>\n\n

David Roy, Executive Director of Workshops for Biodiversity said:<\/strong> \u201cEven if forward-thinking financial institutions may be committed to reducing their climate and biodiversity impact, an uneven playing field undermines their efforts. Strong and clear government policies are crucial to ensure that all institutions align with climate goals. Without such regulation, Canada risks prioritizing short-term profits at the expense of long-term stability, threatening both our economy and environment.\u201d <\/p>\n\n

A full copy of the open letter, along with the list of signatory organizations and individuals, is available at: https:\/\/ecojustice.ca\/open-letter-to-mark-carney-when-our-neighbours-backslide-do-better-and-future-proof-our-economy\/<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n

About<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

Ecojustice<\/a> <\/strong>uses the power of the law to defend nature, combat climate change and fight for a healthy environment. Its strategic, public interest lawsuits and advocacy lead to precedent-setting court decisions, law and policy that deliver lasting solutions to Canada\u2019s most urgent environmental problems. As Canada\u2019s largest environmental law charity, Ecojustice operates offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax.  <\/p>\n\n

For media inquiries:<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n

Laura Bergamo, Communications Campaigner, Greenpeace Canada laura.bergamo@greenpeace.org<\/a> ; +1 438 928-5237<\/p>\n\n

Cari Siebrits, Communications Strategist | Ecojustice \u00a0
(647) 620-1212, csiebrits@ecojustice.ca<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today, climate-concerned organizations from across Canada published an open letter to Mark Carney, calling on the newly elected Prime Minister-designate\u00a0to future-proof the Canadian economy by putting forward climate-aligned finance policy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":77,"featured_media":68924,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"Groups send open letter to Carney, urging forward-thinking policy to future-proof the Canadian economy \u00a0","p4_og_description":"Today, climate-concerned organizations from across Canada published an open letter to Mark Carney, calling on the newly elected Prime Minister-designate\u00a0to future-proof the Canadian economy by putting forward climate-aligned finance policy.\u00a0\u00a0","p4_og_image":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/static\/planet4-canada-stateless\/2025\/03\/0d30249f-gp1swoh9_medium-res-with-credit-line-1200px.jpg","p4_og_image_id":"68924","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[23,32,160,162],"p4-page-type":[14],"class_list":["post-68923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","category-our-work","tag-climate","tag-oil","tag-fossil-fuels","tag-banks","p4-page-type-press-release"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/77"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68923"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68923\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68928,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68923\/revisions\/68928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68923"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/canada\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=68923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}