Belém, Brazil, 18 November 2025:
Today at COP30, international civil society denounced Canada as Fossil of the Day—the first time since 2014 that Canada has been singled out for this dishonour.
Fossil of the Day is awarded daily during COPs to the countries “who are the best at being the worst and doing the most to do the least.” In a statement, Climate Action Network International said:
“Canada receives the award because the new government of Prime Minister Mark Carney has flushed years of climate policies down the drain, and is completely ‘Missing In Action’ at a COP where multilateralism needs to be saved. In addition to the backsliding on policies tackling Canada’s climate-destroying pollution, his Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin has chosen inaction and silence where leadership was urgently needed.
“While the world at COP30 is actively working to establish the Belém Action Mechanism – a new global architecture to ensure a just transition for workers, communities and Indigenous Peoples – Canada remains silent in the conversation. We see the G77+China, the European Union, and others propose ways forward for the Just Transition Work Programme, yet Canada remains vague. The country offers only sympathetic nods to domestic “sustainable jobs”, but no substantive commitment to the mechanism that could link global cooperation, justice, and climate ambition. […]
“For all of these reasons – the dismantling of progress, the disregard for Indigenous rights, the silence on finance, the absence of leadership, and the growing gap between rhetoric and reality – Canada has earned today’s Fossil of the Day.
“Canada: we expected better. Your people deserve better. And the world cannot afford your retreat.”
The justification for the award also cited:
- Canada is violating Indigenous rights and the principles of Just Transition with its approach to fast-tracking “projects of national interest,” including fossil fuel expansion announced just days ago during COP30;
- Canada’s failure to announce its new international climate finance commitment; and
- Canada’s failure to move forward on adaptation, both at home and in COP30 negotiations.
Caroline Brouillette, Executive Director of Climate Action Network Canada, commented: “It’s sad to see Canada embarrassed on the international stage like this, but even more heartbreaking has been seeing the hard-won and substantial climate progress that we achieved over the past ten years be torn away piece by piece. I hope it sends a crystal clear message to Prime Minister Mark Carney: the world sees this government’s backtracking on climate, and silence at this crucial moment for multilateralism, and it’s not okay.”
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Canada’s farthest-reaching network of organizations working on climate and energy issues, Climate Action Network – Réseau action climat (CAN-Rac) Canada is a coalition of close to 200 organizations operating from coast to coast to coast. Our membership brings environmental groups together with trade unions, First Nations, social justice, development, health and youth organizations, faith groups and local, grassroots initiatives.
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Vicky Coo, Communications Manager
comms@climateactionnetwork.ca