Goal 17: Strengthen partnerships to promote global action on sustainable development

This Goal's focus on strengthening partnerships to promote global action on sustainable development directly supports SDG Global Indicator Framework targets:

• 17.2: Developed countries to implement fully their official development assistance commitments, including the commitment by many developed countries to achieve the target of 0.7 per cent of ODA/GNI to developing countries and 0.15 to 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries; ODA providers are encouraged to consider setting a target to provide at least 0.20 per cent of ODA/GNI to least developed countries
• 17.3: Mobilize additional financial resources for developing countries from multiple sources
• 17.4: Assist developing countries in attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies aimed at fostering debt financing, debt relief and debt restructuring, as appropriate, and address the external debt of highly indebted poor countries to reduce debt distress
• 17.10: Promote a universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable multilateral trading system under the World Trade Organization, including through the conclusion of negotiations under its Doha Development Agenda

The impacts of climate change are being increasingly felt around the globe, particularly in developing countries that are least equipped to respond to the consequences. In 2009 as part of the Copenhagen Accord under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), developed countries, including Canada, committed to jointly mobilize climate finance from a variety of public and private financial sources, reaching USD$100 billion annually by 2020 to support climate efforts in developing countries.

This commitment was reaffirmed in the Paris Agreement, where Parties agreed that the USD$100 billion goal would be continued through 2025. The Climate Finance Delivery Plan, prepared jointly by Canada and Germany and published in October 2021, clarifies when and how developed countries will reach this collective climate finance goal through 2025. Canada and Germany prepared a Climate Finance Delivery Plan Progress Report with developed countries to demonstrate continued progress towards the goal in the lead-up to COP27.

Another aspect of partnership relates to trade. The linkages between trade and the environment are complex and the subject of international discussions and negotiations. Countries and international organizations, such as the World Trade Organization, G7, G20, OECD and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, are working together to promote mutually supportive trade and environment objectives such as environmental protections in bilateral and regional trade agreements and multilateral initiatives on trade and environment.

Any agenda focused on reducing inequalities must consider Canada's role in global affairs and in alleviating inequalities among countries. Despite some global measures that have reduced inequalities, such as international assistance and preferential trade status that benefits low-income countries, inequalities persist worldwide. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have deepened inequalities, especially where weakened health systems or existing humanitarian crises have increased the risk of people being left behind or dying.

Developing countries are particularly exposed to the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss. They also have fewer financial resources and less technical capacity to implement climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. Canada's international engagement on climate change, including its climate finance commitment to developing countries to support their climate mitigation, and to foster resilience among those most at risk from the effects of climate change, is important to reduce global inequalities.

Climate-related disasters such as droughts, floods, extreme weather events, and food and water insecurity have a greater and differentiated effects on at-risk groups, especially women, girls, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples, and people with reduced incomes. These groups face greater vulnerabilities, including the burden of managing the shocks of climate change and the health impacts of indoor and outdoor pollution. Therefore, individuals and groups in vulnerable situations stand to benefit the most from climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, and from measures to protect and restore nature.

Finally, in a time of constant change, open data is an important mechanism for enhancing transparency, and ensuring evidence-based dialogue and collaboration between governments and civil society. In Canada, open data helps foster multi-stakeholder collaboration to better understand and contribute to solving public challenges. Open data also provides critical information to help achieve the SDGs and to measure progress in meeting them. These insights can inform priorities and help determine the most effective paths for driving innovation and action to resolve issues. The quality and relevance of available open datasets is of particular importance for informed decision making.

Canada also provides institutional support to multilateral organizations, which support initiatives to address climate change. However, the transition to low-emission, climate-resilient economies will require substantially more financing, from all actors and sources. That is why the Government of Canada has committed to providing $5.3 billion in climate finance over 2021 to 2026 and is working with partners to tap into the significant potential for investment in climate solutions by the private sector and helping to mobilize additional climate finance in developing countries.

In support of the Paris Agreement, Canada's climate finance commitments encompass a wide range of climate mitigation and adaptation measures in developing countries, especially the poorest and most vulnerable. On June 13, 2021, Canada announced a climate finance commitment of $5.3 billion over 5 years, including increased support for adaptation as well as nature-based climate solutions and projects that contribute to biodiversity co-benefits. Canada's climate finance commitment will be delivered across four main thematic areas: clean energy transition and coal phase-out, climate-smart agriculture and food systems, nature-based solutions and biodiversity, and climate governance.

Canada's commitment is delivered through a variety of bilateral and multilateral initiatives, including the Green Climate Fund, the largest dedicated climate fund in the world. Canada's approach includes partnering with Multilateral Development Banks, such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank Group, to establish Canadian climate funds to leverage private sector financing by removing market barriers to private climate investment in developing countries.

To date, under its $5.3 billion commitment, Canada has announced investments of up to $372.5 million to help the world's poorest and most vulnerable countries adapt to the climate crisis and increase their resilience, including funding to the Least Developed Countries Fund, Adaptation Fund, National Adaptation Plan Global Network, and Partnering for Climate. Canada is also supporting clean energy transitions and coal phase-out in developing countries, including up to $1 billion to the Climate Investment Funds - Accelerated Coal Transition Initiative.

Canada's climate finance commitment aligns with its Feminist International Assistance Policy, which guides Canada's overall approach to international assistance. Canada's international climate finance has a strong focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Canada's $5.3 billion climate finance commitment will ensure that at least 80% of its projects integrate gender equality considerations.

In addition to implementing its climate finance commitment, the Government of Canada pursues an ambitious trade and investment agenda and actively promotes trade and investment in goods and services needed to protect Canada's natural environment. Canada's overall approach to environment in its free trade agreement negotiations is based on the guiding principle that trade and environment should be mutually supportive, incorporating environmental considerations and obligations to ensure that strong environmental standards are upheld by all Parties. Canada also champions trade and environment at the World Trade Organization's Committee on Trade and Environment and the Trade and Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions, as well as the OECD's Joint Working Party on Trade and Environment.

Through its International Business Development Strategy for Clean Technology, the Trade Commissioner Service is helping more Canadian clean technology firms pursue export opportunities and scale up internationally, including by connecting them with sources of global climate finance to support projects in developing markets.

Canada is party to a number of international agreements and initiatives to reduce inequality in relation to global climate and environmental challenges. These include the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement. Canada is a strong proponent of international climate action by Indigenous Peoples and played a key role in launching and operationalizing the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform in the UNFCCC. The platform aims to strengthen the capacity of local communities and Indigenous Peoples to address and respond to climate change, exchange best practices and knowledge with respect to mitigation and adaptation, and enhance their engagement in the broader UNFCCC process.

Canada also continues to actively promote 2SLGBTQI+ rights in a number of multilateral fora, and collaborates closely with civil society organizations in Canada and abroad to advance 2SLGBTQI+ rights. In line with the Feminist International Assistance Policy, Canada has continued to implement the LGBTQ2I International Assistance Program which represents $30 million in dedicated funding over five years (2019-2024) aiming to advance human rights and improve socio-economic outcomes for 2SLGBTQI+ people in developing countries.

To promote inclusive partnerships and collaboration within Canada, the Government Canada maintains the Open Government Portal as a single point of entry for open data and information published by federal organizations, as well as from some provinces and territories. For example, the Federal Geospatial Platform includes a collection of federal, provincial, and territorial geospatial information that provides quick and easy access to economic, social and environmental data on a range of complex issues. Since the Open Government Portal was relaunched in June 2013, more than 80,000 datasets have been published. Following a series of consolidations of small data sets into more comprehensive series, individuals can now access more than 30,000 open data and information assets online. In particular, data for Canadian Environmental Sustainability Indicators that are used to measure progress on the FSDS are available through the Open Government Portal.

Targets, indicators, milestones and contextual indicators

Theme:  Sustainable development partnerships

Target: Climate finance ⁽¹⁾

By 2026, implement Canada's climate finance commitment of $5.3 billion with at least 40% of funding going toward climate adaptation and at least 20% to projects that leverage nature-based climate solutions and projects that contribute biodiversity co-benefits (Minister of Environment and Climate Change)

Short-term milestone: Advance Canada's priorities on sustainable natural resources and clean technology ⁽¹⁾

Between the end of 2022 and the end of 2026, take part in an average of 40 international engagements per year aimed at ensuring that Canada's sustainable natural resources remain competitive in the market, maintaining relationships with other countries, and promoting Canada's clean technology and sustainable natural resources.

Short-term milestone: Engage with priority countries and regions ⁽¹⁾

By the end of 2023, Canada cooperates with bilateral and regional international partners on the environment, climate change, and clean technology, through negotiation of environment provisions in free trade agreements, engagement under bilateral and regional environmental cooperation instruments, and engagement with partners to advance Canada's priorities.

Contextual indicator: Percentage of international climate finance projects that integrate gender equality ⁽ⁱ⁾

This indicator tracks the percentage of projects through Canada's $5.3 billion climate finance commitment that integrate gender equality. In line with Canada's Feminist International Assistance Policy, Canada will adopt an inclusive, intersectional and feminist approach to climate finance. Canada's approach includes supporting women's leadership and decision-making in developing countries' transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient economies, as well as gender-equitable access to the benefits of climate finance investments. As this is a new indicator, baseline data is not yet available.

Implementation strategies and departmental actions

Theme:  Sustainable development partnerships

Implementation strategy: Increase support to and help build capacity in developing countries to adapt to and mitigate climate change ⁽¹⁾

In delivering Canada's climate finance commitment, provide increased mitigation and adaptation support to developing countries, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, to pursue low-carbon, and climate-resilient, nature-positive, and inclusive sustainable development. Canada's support for mitigation action in developing countries will lead to measurable greenhouse gas emission reductions, and its support for adaptation measures in developing countries will increase climate resilience for the most vulnerable.

Implementation strategy: Support a clean energy transition ⁽¹⁾

Support developing countries' clean energy transition and coal phase-out. Leverage Canada's climate finance to complement its co-leadership with the United Kingdom of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, a coalition of over 165 members leading global efforts to end emissions from unabated coal power.

Implementation strategy: Advance international collaboration on critical minerals ⁽¹⁾

Work with international partners and allies, including through implementation of the Canada-U.S. Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals Collaboration and the Canada-EU Strategic Partnership on Raw Materials to develop sustainable supply chains for the critical minerals needed to enable a transition to a low-carbon, digitized economy and support advanced technology and manufacturing.

Implementation strategy: Advance open data initiatives ⁽¹⁾

The Government of Canada will expand its open data initiatives and make more data available digitally—for example, by aligning its approaches with international best practices and publishing new datasets on the Open Government Portal, including those that Canadians specifically request. It will also continue to demonstrate international leadership in open data and open, inclusive government through its membership and leading roles in the Digital Nations and the Open Government Partnership.

Implementation strategy: Promote environmental protection in trade agreements and other engagement mechanisms ⁽¹⁾

Integrate and implement environmental considerations and provisions in bilateral, regional, and multilateral free trade agreements and environmental agreements, to ensure that environmental standards are upheld as trade and investment are liberalized. Promote cooperation on environmental issues of mutual interest with key trading partners. Support initiatives on trade and environment in multilateral fora such as the World Trade Organization.

Implementation strategy: Promote responsible business conduct by Canadian companies abroad ⁽¹⁾

Implement Canada's new Responsible Business Conduct Strategy (2022 to 2027), including by building awareness and championing action, providing Canadian companies active abroad with the tools they need to mitigate risks and succeed, and strengthening the global responsible business conduct ecosystem.

Implementation strategy: Work with partners to monitor and protect our ecosystems through space-based services and technologies ⁽¹⁾

Collect, monitor and disseminate space-based data and information to protect the environment. Support Earth observation satellites that provide critical services that Canadians rely on, including reliable weather forecasts, while helping to monitor and fight climate change and supporting innovation across sectors, including energy and agriculture.

Responsibilities and contributions of federal organizations

Performance measurement

*Indicators that have also been included in the Canadian Indicator Framework.

For more detailed information see Strengthening transparency and accountability.