Government of Canada launches engagement to strengthen industrial carbon pricing and secure major clean energy investments Français
GATINEAU, QC, Dec. 19, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, Environment and Climate Change Canada launched engagement on changes to the minimum national stringency standards for industrial carbon pricing, known as the federal benchmark criteria. Feedback received will help inform changes to the federal benchmark in 2026 to ensure that all industrial carbon pricing systems in Canada drive emission reductions and provide certainty for investments in decarbonization while enabling our companies to remain competitive in the global marketplace.
Climate action is not just a moral obligation--it is an economic imperative. As global markets accelerate toward cleaner production, Canada's climate competitiveness will become increasingly important. Industrial carbon pricing is a key pillar of Budget 2025's Climate Competitiveness Strategy. It gives large industrial emitters an incentive to reduce emissions that cause climate change while keeping their costs low to protect against the risk of carbon leakage.
Well-designed carbon markets create opportunities for Canadian businesses to generate revenues from investing in cleaner production while ensuring the long-term value of those investments. Pollution pricing and other climate policies are creating strong demand for innovative clean technologies in Canada, which helps attract new job opportunities, new investments, and new products and lines of business for Canadian companies. Canada's clean technology industry continues to be a driver for economic activity, contributing $40.6 billion to Canada's gross domestic product (GDP) and more than 224,000 jobs to the economy in 2023.
Canada's Climate Competitiveness Strategy is not only about reducing emissions--it is about building a resilient economy, creating good jobs, protecting affordability for Canadians, and securing our place as a leader in the global clean energy transition. Through clear, predictable, and long-term policies, we are giving Canadian investors certainty to build and positioning our industries to compete and win.
Our actions to strengthen carbon markets and drive innovation will support long-term prosperity. Independent studies show that industrial carbon pricing is the lowest-cost way to cut emissions while having virtually no impact on families.
The Government of Canada recognizes that industrial carbon markets are essential to meeting our shared economic and environmental ambitions and will continue to collaborate closely with provinces and territories to realize this vision for a sustainable and prosperous future.
Quotes
"Canadian industry should lead in providing products that the world economy demands, using the cleanest and most efficient production methods. Industrial carbon pricing is a key tool to ensure this. The Government of Canada will engage with provinces and territories on how industrial carbon pricing can help deliver on Canada's broader climate and energy objectives."
– The Honourable Julie Dabrusin, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature
Quick facts
- According to independent estimates, industrial carbon pricing is the climate policy with the single largest contribution to achieving our climate targets.
- Industrial carbon markets are a major component of Canada's clean investment landscape. Last March, the Canadian Climate Institute estimated that 70 major decarbonization projects across the country, collectively valued at over $57 billion, are supported by carbon pricing.
- Jurisdictions around the world use carbon pricing to drive emission reductions. According to the World Bank, there are currently 113 carbon pricing instruments implemented around the world, covering about 28% of global emissions.
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SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada
Contacts: Keean Nembhard, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature, 343-552-2387, [email protected]; Media Relations, Environment and Climate Change Canada, 819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free), [email protected]
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