Disappointing G7 Energy and Environment Ministerial raises the alarm on Canada’s climate leadership going into COP30

Unceded Anishinaabe Algonquin Territories [OTTAWA], 1 November 2025:

The G7 Energy and Environment Ministerial concluded yesterday in Toronto with no clear progress on raising climate ambition ahead of COP30—a wasted opportunity for leadership from Canada, and a failure of responsibility from the world’s wealthiest countries.

“From a climate perspective, this G7 Ministerial could have been an email,” said Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada (CAN-Rac). “Canada was negotiating in difficult circumstances, given the United States’ climate-destructive presence. But diplomacy requires strategy, and we hope Minister Dabrusin finds one for Canada before COP30—and works with civil society to land it.”

Further analysis:

• After Canada’s second-worst wildfire season on record, the G7 energy and environment ministers’ attention to preparing for extreme weather is welcome, and stronger than what Leaders agreed to at the Kananaskis Summit—but their statement fails to make any mention of fossil fuels as the primary cause of more frequent and severe disasters.
• As Canada ramps up its focus on critical minerals, CAN-Rac urges a thoughtful approach and full respect of Indigenous rights and consent. Canada must not replicate the colonial, extractive model of the fossil fuel era.
• Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson’s continued promotion of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) as “low-carbon” is deeply concerning, and out of line with LNG’s actual emissions and climate impact. New fossil fuel infrastructure of any kind will only hurt Canada’s economy and environment.
• The Chair’s summary takes an unhelpful all-of-the-above approach, lumping together real solutions, including battery storage, energy efficiency and scaling up renewable energy, with dangerous and costly distractions such as Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage.
• We note Canada’s lead in advancing the G7 Water Coalition and developing its 2025–2028 workplan, building on the foundation set by Italy during its 2024 G7 Presidency, and acting on the calls of civil society to address water security.
• Today’s Ministerial on Climate Action presents Canada, as well as the European Union and China, with one more chance to rally urgency and focus on what needs to be achieved at COP30 in Belém.

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