Canada ties virus help to climate goals

OTTAWA: Canada announced a plan on Monday to help its largest companies hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic -- but tied loans and financial aid to its climate goals.

Tens of millions of dollars will be available for companies with annual revenues of more than Can$300 million (US$215 million), to mitigate lockdowns caused by the outbreak, Finance Minister Bill Morneau said. He told a news conference the cash would "make sure that companies that came into this crisis on a strong footing, get to the other side, and can rebound quickly."

"Companies that receive this funding will be required to commit to future climate disclosures, and environmental sustainability goals," Morneau added. Canada relies on a patchwork of carbon taxes and cap-and-trade systems to help reach its Paris Agreement target of reducing CO2 emissions by 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

Details of the corporate loans and grants program are to be released over the coming days. Conditions will include strict limits on executive bonuses, share buybacks and dividends. Banks and companies convicted of tax evasion will not be eligible for the Large Employer Emergency Financing Facility.

Morneau cited airlines as an example of companies that might tap into the emergency funding, saying large firms "provide jobs for millions of Canadians." Last month, Ottawa announced Can$1.7 billion to help the oil sector, struggling with low prices, survive the downturn by cleaning up environmental messes.

The funds are to go specifically to clean up "orphaned" wells, abandoned by defunct firms, that may be contaminating groundwater and leaking greenhouse gases. The government also announced in April a new Can$750 million fund to help energy companies cut methane emissions under new, stricter environmental regulations.