Skip to main content

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife, Sophie Grégoire, arrive for the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Valletta, Malta, on Nov. 27, 2015.STEFAN ROUSSEAU/Reuters

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government announced an increase in Canadian funding for developing countries, putting in $2.65-billion over five years.

The money is a key element of international climate change talks: Nations agreed at the Copenhagen summit ‎that by 2020, wealthier nations would transfer $100-billion to poorer ones to fund climate policies.

Mr. Trudeau is heading to the start of UN-sponsored global climate talks in Paris on Sunday – and he was expected to bring a pledge of cash.

Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion boasted it is more than a doubling of the sums Canada contributed in the past.‎ "It's much more than we ever did," he told reporters.

The money will go both to mitigate damage from climate change and fund emissions-reductions projects in developing countries, notably in Africa and among Pacific islands, Mr. Dion said.

The former Conservative government contributed $1.2-billion over five years to so-called fast-track climate funds after the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit, and also put in a separate sum of $300-million over two years.

‎But the new, $2.65-billion pledge is less than that of some other developed nations, such as Britain, which has pledged £5.8-billion pounds ($10-billion) over five years.

By 2020, t‎he Canadian government will put in $800-million annually.

Environmentalists argue Canada's fair share of the $100-billion annually that is pledged for 2020 should be about $4-billion.

Mr. Dion noted that that sum is supposed to be Canada's contribution from both public and private sources, and that the $800-million Canada will contribute in 2020 will attract private "partners" and generate a total of $4-billion. He did not specify by what mechanism such private funds would be attracted, or what incentives might be provided to generate private capital.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe