EDC Plans 15% cut in fossil fuel portfolio by 2020

(Bloomberg, Ottawa, 19 July 2022) Canada’s export credit agency is targeting a 15% cut to its financing portfolio for upstream oil and gas production by 2030. The target will include a 3% shift - against a 2020 baseline - in the composition of production to gas from oil, recognizing that the former may play a role in supporting energy demand during the transition to net-zero emissions. EDC, a government-backed lender, also wants a 37% reduction in emissions per passenger kilometer from its airlines portfolio by 2030. The new targets for two sectors that make up a sizable portion of the agency’s financing business are part of its broader push to achieve net zero by 2050. Meanwhile, UKEF claims to have spent “its first year without providing any support for overseas fossil fuel projects".