Question Period Note: Export Development Canada Support for Carbon Intensive Sectors

Responsive to NGO, Environment Defense, report on EDC support for carbon intensive industries.

• Export Development Canada (EDC) has set ambitious targets for climate action. It was the first export credit agency to become a supporter of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.
• EDC has reduced exposure to carbone intensive sectors by 15 per cent since 2018 and is now the largest clean technology financier in Canada, facilitating over $4.55 billion in business in 2020.

• We have recently requested EDC to do even more, including by aligning its portfolio with Canada's Paris Agreement commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050.
• EDC works at arms-length from the government and makes its own decisions.

Export Development Canada (EDC) is a Crown corporation and Canada's export credit agency, with a mandate to support and develop Canada's export trade.

Day-to-day operations of EDC are at arm's length from the Government. EDC is governed by a Chair and Board of Directors responsible for implementing the direction provided by the Minister for International Trade.

The Minister is accountable to Parliament for EDC and also recommends approval of its annual corporate plan to the Treasury Board, with the Minister of Finance also approving its Borrowing Plan.

The Minister also provides guidance to EDC annually via a Statement of Priorities and Accountabilities (SPA) letter to the EDC Chair. The 2021 SPA letter, provided in February 2021, outlines expectations for EDC on climate change, including: 1) taking a more ambitious approach to addressing the challenges of climate change; 2) tracking the reduction of EDC's climate impact in all sectors, not just the most carbon intensive; 3) only providing financial support for transactions in the oil and gas sector involving Canadian companies; and, 4) building on support for the clean technologies sector and reporting on its progress.

In 2020, EDC facilitated $8.1 billion in oil and gas sector business via 544 transactions and over $9.2 billion in the mining sector through 301 transactions. The combined business facilitated for these sectors was over $17.3 billion, which represents a significant resduction in the past five years from almost $26.4 billion in 2015.

In addition, EDC committed in 2019 to a Climate Change Policy that compels the Crown corporation to measure, report, and reduce the impact of its portfolio on climate change.

EDC has also been making great efforts to support Canada's cleantech sector as its leading financier. In 2020, EDC facilitated over $4.55 billion in cleantech business, representing a growth of over 400 per cent since 2015. Cleantech is a rapidly growing sector of support for EDC and will continue to be moving forward.

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