Politics
What is Canada’s role at COP30 climate summit? What to know – National TenX News
Canadian climate negotiators are headed to Brazil for the next two weeks as leaders gather for annual United Nations climate talks.
The talks come as Prime Minister Mark Carney, whose credentials as an international climate advocate helped win him support in this year’s election, comes under increasing scrutiny for his reversal of some key Trudeau-era climate policies — and his government’s perceived softening on the oil and gas sector, the biggest source of Canada’s emissions.
One focus is expected to be on how the world will adapt to climate change risks — and how countries will pay for those mitigation efforts.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the landmark Paris Agreement, and leaders will face questions about whether the deal is working and if countries are pulling back from their climate commitments, says Catherine Abreu, a leading Canadian climate policy expert.
But she is optimistic: “I think we’ll see strong political signals coming out of (the conference) that the vast majority of the world is definitely still committed to this process,” Abreu, a member of an independent group of federal climate advisors, said ahead of the meetings.
Here’s what else you need to know.
The summit’s name stands for the 30th Conference of the Parties who signed the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
This year, Brazil will host the summit in Belém, a city known as a gateway to the Amazon River.
That location is a stark reminder of what’s at stake if emissions aren’t kept in check, as climate change and deforestation fuel the rainforest’s transformation into a drier, fire-prone savanna.
Unlike the summit 10 years ago in Paris, the host Brazil has indicated this COP is focused on following through on existing deals, rather than advancing new rulemaking.
A key focus will be on adaptation — how to make countries more resilient to increased climate risks, from rising sea levels to extreme heat. Negotiators are set to finalize a list of about 100 indicators used to track global progress, such as how many people have access to reliable drinking water capable of withstanding climate-fuelled drought.
There is still debate over how to track the money developing countries say they need to turn adaptation goals into reality. Parties are looking at indicators that could include measuring what portion of all adaptation funding is flowing to local governments, small island nations or Indigenous Peoples, reflecting a broader goal to promote equity and justice in how money to fight climate change is distributed.
Negotiations will look to advance a major outcome of last year’s talks: the pledge to mobilize at least $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 for climate finance. There will also be discussions about the agreement two years ago to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030 and transition away from fossil fuels, the major driver of human-caused climate change.
More than half of the countries attending the talks have yet to submit updated national climate plans, called Nationally Determined Contributions. Those plans, due earlier this year, represent each country’s contribution to the climate change fight and are intended to be strengthened every five years in an escalating cycle of ambition.
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Abreu said she expects to see a push at the talks for leaders to explain how “countries will fill that gap.”
Federal officials say Canada will continue to play a bridge-builder role to help countries reach a consensus on some of the summit’s key issues. The officials, who briefed reporters ahead of the talks, say Canada will support calls to scale up climate finance and keep global warming targets within reach.
But climate observers say Canada’s support for oil and gas expansion, as well as its silence on whether it will meet its 2030 and 2035 emissions targets, could be among issues undermining its position.
Advocates pointed to the latest federal budget, which offered no details on how the industrial carbon price would be strengthened, talked of potentially setting aside an oil and gas industry emissions cap and also opened the door to the Canada Infrastructure Bank supporting projects in that sector, rather than limiting its work to sustainability-linked projects.
“There’s just no way that we can make those commitments given the current ways in which the government is pushing for oil and gas industry in Canada,” said Eriel Tchekwie Deranger, president of nonprofit Indigenous Climate Action and a member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation.
Deranger said Canada has over the past decade been receptive to Indigenous proposals at the UN climate summit, especially around increased funding for adaptation and climate finance.
Yet “when it comes to implementation at home, it’s falling flat,” she said.
Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin will lead Canada’s delegation for the first week of the conference. Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former UN special envoy on climate finance and veteran of the summit, is not expected to attend as his government faces confidence votes on the budget.
There has been reduced participation in pre-summit events, taken by some as a sign of a dwindling global focus on climate change. A meeting of heads of state earlier this week saw about half the attendance that last year’s summit had, with notable absences from the leaders of the planet’s three biggest polluters: China, the United States and India.
This summit will also take place in the shadow of the U.S. withdrawing from the Paris Agreement for a second time under President Donald Trump.
Abreu said it may be for the best.
“I think that that might actually result in the rest of the world being able to come up with some solutions together without that obstructionist presence,” she said.
Does the Paris Agreement still matter?
A decade ago, world leaders adopted a deal in Paris to limit global warming to two degrees and aim for 1.5 C above pre-industrial times, while charting a course for the future of climate diplomacy.
Catherine McKenna, who helped negotiate the deal as Canada’s then-environment minister, said the deal has been “foundational.” Before Paris, there was no clear global temperature target and no framework for how each country could do their part.
In 2015, the planet was on track to warm by about 3.5 C by the end of the century, the UN says. Now, if countries live up to their climate plans, that could be closer to 2.5 C.
While that is an improvement, experts say that level of warming would still make heat waves unbearable in some areas, threaten coastal countries with sea-level rise and lead to major biodiversity losses, among a range of other issues.
“That’s not where we need to be,” said McKenna. “But (the Paris Agreement) was critically important. Without that, we wouldn’t have this framework, we wouldn’t have ways to evaluate integrity, we wouldn’t have targets.”
The agreement’s legacy is also showing up in the uptake of renewable energy, Abreu said.
This year, investments in clean energy are expected to double the money put into fossil fuels. Fossil fuels continue to dominate the global energy mix at about 60 per cent, but for the first time, renewable and nuclear energy sources covered two-fifths of total annual power generation in 2024, the International Energy Agency said.
What’s important now is to see renewables scale up even quicker to push out fossil fuels, she said.
“We really need to reach a turning point on that.”
A trip to the world’s most-visited museum is about to cost Canadians significantly more.
France has hiked ticket prices at the Louvre by 45 per cent for visitors from outside the European Union, a move that is fuelling debate over so-called dual pricing and the growing backlash against overtourism.
Starting this week, adult visitors from non-EU countries, including Canada, must pay €32 to enter the Paris landmark, up from €22. That’s an increase from about $35 to $52 Canadian.
Visitors from EU countries, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, will continue to pay the lower rate.
The price hike comes as the Louvre grapples with repeated labour strikes, a high-profile daylight jewel heist last October that prompted a costly security overhaul, and years of chronic overcrowding. The museum attracts roughly nine million visitors annually.
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Some Canadian tourists told Global News they feel unfairly targeted.
“We didn’t cause the robberies or some of the other issues that happened and we are paying the consequences,” said Allison Moore, visiting Paris from Newfoundland with her daughter. “[In] Canada we don’t discriminate over pricing like that.”
Others argue tourists already shoulder higher costs simply by travelling long distances.
“In general for tourists, I think things should be a little cheaper than for local people, because we have to travel to come all the way here,” said Darla Daniela Quiroz, another Canadian visitor. “It should be equal pricing, or a little bit cheaper.”
Even some Europeans question the two-tiered system. A French tourist interviewed outside the museum said there was “no reason” to charge non-Europeans more and that the fee should be the same for everyone.
Tourism experts say the Louvre’s financial pressures help explain the decision.
“The Louvre is really cash-strapped right now and needs to do something,” said Marion Joppe, a professor at the University of Guelph. “It can’t really look to the government, which is already struggling with its own budget.”
The move also reflects a broader global pushback against mass tourism. Anti-tourism protests have spread across parts of Spain, New Zealand has increased its entry tax, and the United States recently raised national park fees for foreign visitors.
“You take Paris — it gets about 50 million tourists a year,” said Julian Karaguesian, an economist at McGill University. “That’s roughly a million a week. The city simply wasn’t built for those kinds of numbers.”
Despite the higher price, many visitors say they will still line up to see the Mona Lisa and other of the museum’s famous artworks.
“It’s one of the main attractions. It’s on everybody’s list,” Moore said. “We’re still going to go, and hopefully it will be worth it in the end.”
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Politics
Trump calls Canada-China deal ‘good thing’ as U.S. officials voice concern – National TenX News
Canada’s new trade deal with China is getting a mixed reaction in Washington, with U.S. President Donald Trump voicing support as administration officials warned Ottawa could regret allowing Chinese EVs into the Canadian market.
The deal signed with Beijing on Friday reverses course on 100 per cent tariffs Canada slapped on Chinese electric vehicles in 2024, which aligned with similar U.S. duties. Canada and China also agreed to reduce tariffs on canola and other products.
Asked about the deal by reporters at the White House, Trump said Prime Minister Mark Carney was doing the right thing.
“That’s what he should be doing. It’s a good thing for him to sign a trade deal. If you can get a deal with China, you should do that,” Trump said.
However, members of Trump’s cabinet expressed concern.
“I think they’ll look back at this decision and surely regret it to bring Chinese cars into their market,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at an event with other U.S. government officials at a Ford factory in Ohio to tout efforts to make vehicles more affordable.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told reporters the limited number of vehicles would not impact American car companies exporting cars to Canada.
“I don’t expect that to disrupt American supply into Canada,” he said.
“Canada is so dependent on the United States for their GDP. Their entire population is crowded around our border for that reason. I’ll tell you one thing: if those cars are coming into Canada, they’re not coming here. That’s for sure.”
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Carney has said it’s necessary for Canada to improve trade ties and cooperation with China in light of Trump’s trade war and threats to let the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement on free trade expire.
The trade pact is up for review this summer, and Greer reiterated that the Trump administration wants to bring more auto manufacturing back to the U.S. and incentivize companies to do so.
Under the new deal with Beijing, Carney said he expects China will lower tariffs on its canola seed by March 1 to a combined rate of about 15 per cent.
Greer questioned that agreement in a separate CNBC interview.
“I think in the long run, they’re not going to like having made that deal,” he said.
He called the decision to allow Chinese EVs into Canada “problematic” and added: “There’s a reason why we don’t sell a lot of Chinese cars in the United States. It’s because we have tariffs to protect American auto workers and Americans from those vehicles.”
Greer said rules adopted last January on vehicles that are connected to the internet and navigation systems are a significant impediment to Chinese vehicles in the U.S. market.
“I think it would be hard for them to operate here,” Greer said. “There are rules and regulations in place in America about the cybersecurity of our vehicles and the systems that go into those, so I think it might be hard for the Chinese to comply with those kind of rules.”
Trump and officials like Greer have taken aim at Chinese attempts to enter the North American car market through Mexico by bypassing rules of origin under CUSMA.
The CUSMA review set for July is expected to address those loopholes that American and Canadian officials have said are being exploited by China.
Those concerns, which were also raised by the Biden administration, in part helped spur the steep tariffs on Chinese EVs, which are heavily subsidized by Beijing.
Trump, however, has also said he would like Chinese automakers to come to the United States to build vehicles.
Both Democrat and Republican lawmakers in the U.S. have expressed strong opposition to Chinese vehicles as major U.S. automakers warn China poses a threat to the U.S. auto sector.
Ohio Senator Bernie Moreno, a Republican, said at Friday’s event at the Ford plant that he was opposed to Chinese vehicles coming into the United States, and drew applause from the other government officials.
“As long as I have air in my body, there will not be Chinese vehicles sold the United States of America — period,” Moreno said.
—with files from Reuters
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s trade mission to China is being framed as a win for British Columbia’s economy.
Carney announced a new deal with Beijing on electric vehicles and canola at the end of a high-profile trip on Friday.
“The inroads Canada has made this week are a sign that the government gets it and is showing Canadians and the world that we are open for business,” Alexa Young with the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority said.
The trade deal would allow up to 49,000 Chinese EVs into Canada yearly at a tariff rate of 6.1 per cent.
An expanded auto terminal on Annacis Island will be able to handle the additional volume of cars that could be more affordable than what is currently on the market, with prices expected to be under $40,000.
The New Car Dealers Association said in a statement to Global News that, “We look forward to reviewing the full details of this announcement and engaging constructively with governments to ensure that affordability, competition, and long-term market stability remain central considerations.”
In British Columbia, the overall reaction to the news on Friday is positive.
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“China’s economy is important,” Alex McMillan with the B.C. Chamber of Commerce said.
“Having trade deals like this — and diversifying our markets — is important. Providing certainty is important.”
There are concerns with the agreement, including privacy issues and China’s human rights record. But Ottawa’s goal is to double trade with partners outside the United States, which is a goal that would be impossible without China.
“We do want to see more trade and more diversification of our markets and know that China is an important nation and important economy, so having better trade relationships with them, I think overall is going to be good,” McMillan said.
–with files from The Canadian Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
Louvre raises ticket prices for non-Europeans, hitting Canadian visitors TenX News
Trump calls Canada-China deal ‘good thing’ as U.S. officials voice concern – National TenX News
Canada-China trade deal framed as a win for B.C.’s economy TenX News
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