National

ORCIE is working with organizations from across Canadian civil society to call upon the government of Canada to fulfill our fair share of the global effort to confront the climate crisis. As the 30th annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) approaches, Prime Minister Carney has a generational opportunity and responsibility to lead boldly on climate justice, economic transformation, and international solidarity.

The climate emergency was created and is accelerated by a deeply unjust global economic system that is unfairly distorted against Indigenous communities and the Global South.

Countries like Canada – one of the wealthiest in the world, one of the largest historic climate polluters and one of the primary crude oil and gas producers – must contribute its fair share towards global climate action. We must not only make a domestic just
energy transition off fossil fuels but must also use our wealth – generated from resource extraction at home and around the world – to support the Global South to do the same and adapt to the climate crisis.

The Fair Share Platform for Global Climate Equity

This is not charity, but an imperative – recognized under the 2015 Paris Agreement – that countries must fund global climate actions according to their responsibility for the climate crisis and their ability to pay.

Why this matters

We believe that the time has come to reckon with Canada’s role in the international community. Canada can show leadership in supporting energy transitions around the world. We can also help transform unfair systems that have become barriers to climate action.

Doing our fair share means building a new package of support to the international community from the Canadian government – rooted in justice and led by social movements.

• Triple Canada’s climate finance to support the Global South with grants, not loans.
• Cancel unjust Global South debt and free billions for climate solutions.
• Make big polluters and the ultra-rich pay their fair share. 
• End trade rules that undermine climate action. 

Read the full platform for a detailed breakdown of how Canada can do its part in the global climate fight.

Individuals are encouraged to sign the petition to send these demands to the Prime Minister and key cabinet ministers.

Religious congregations are invited to sign on as an organization and can do so through this form.

As part of our work on the Jubilee 2025 Turn Debt Into Hope campaign, ORCIE-BCRÉI sent a letter to the Honourable Dominic Leblanc in February, during his short time as Finance Minister, as well as a letter to PM Mark Carney when he became the newly elected leader of the Liberals in March. These moments may seem like flashes in a pan (was this only a few months ago?) but they are part of setting the stage for in person meetings and keeps the urgent issue of debt cancellation and climate justice front and centre.

On the issue of climate finance and ecological debt, staff from ORCIE-BCRÉI and other Jubilee 2025 organizations met with Associate Assistant Deputy Minister Steven Kuhn from Finance Canada and a few other Directors as they were preparing for the 4th International Conference on Finance for Development https://financing.desa.un.org/ffd4. They were very encouraged by the conversation about both financial debt and ecological debt as Canada prepares for G7, G20 and COP30.

Laudato Si 10th Anniversary

For the 10^th anniversary of Laudato Si, KAIROS is inviting people to visit the new ORCIE website to learn about what Religious in the Global South have to say about the intersections of ecological debt, colonialism, and the responsibilities we hold to respond with reparations. 

ORCIE-BCRÉI’s very own Darlene O’Leary—Coordinator of the Martha Justice Ministry with the Sisters of St. Martha in Antigonish—explores the enduring wisdom and prophetic urgency of Pope Francis’ encyclical. She draws out its core message of integral ecology, showing how its vision of interconnectedness deepens and strengthens our pursuit of economic justice—especially in this year of Jubilee. 

Resources

Excellent article from Broadbent Institute Perspectives This Time It Is Worse: Political Economy of the Current International Debt Crisis with historical context on the debt crisis and is pointing to some of the solutions that align with the Jubilee campaign, including the Bridgetown Initiative.