Canada hosts over thirty climate leaders in Sweden to make progress on the environmental goals set out in the Paris Agreement

STOCKHOLM, May 31, 2022 /CNW/ - As momentum grows worldwide to address climate change, prevent biodiversity loss, and tackle pollution, Canada is leading with international partners to raise our ambition and benefit from the opportunities to drive a strong, prosperous future.

Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, hosted the sixth Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA6) in Stockholm, Sweden. The meeting is occurring at the key halfway point between COP26, held in Glasgow in late 2021, and COP27, to be held in Egypt in late 2022.

Canada emphasized three key priorities, which reflect major domestic policies. Those are:

• Encouraging countries to plan and deliver increased greenhouse gas reduction targets (called the Nationally Determined Contributions). Countries exchanged updates on the concrete actions they are taking at home to advance their ambition to cut emissions. Canada shared that, since Glasgow, the Government has published its 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan, a sector-by-sector roadmap to reduce emissions by 40 percent compared with 2005 levels and create good, sustainable jobs in Canada.
• Protecting biodiversity and nature will be paramount to reach our collective climate goals. Forests, oceans, and wetlands are the lungs of the world, acting as a carbon sink that also provides critical habitat for species. Canada continues to champion a global framework for biodiversity to halt and reverse biodiversity loss, with a goal of protecting 30 percent of the world's lands and oceans by 2030. Canada shared the major strides it has made since 2015 towards this goal in partnership with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
• Helping developing countries contribute to climate solutions and adapt to the impacts of climate change by achieving the goal of $100 billion in climate finance by 2023. Developing countries can be the hardest hit, and often have limited capacity to address climate change impacts like severe weather, drought, and flooding. Canada shared that it has recently doubled its climate finance to $5.3 billion and is committed to allocate at least 20 percent (over $1 billion) to projects that leverage nature-based solutions or deliver the added benefit of protecting biodiversity in developing countries. Canada will also provide up to $1 billion to support developing countries in phasing out coal.

Since Canada founded MoCA with the European Union and China in 2017, MoCA continues to be an important forum for a representative group of parties to the Paris Agreement to participate in achieving collective global environmental ambitions.

By engaging major economies and developing countries on the path towards a net-zero economy, we can help ensure that the goods and services purchased by Canadians come from countries who are equally committed to lowering the global carbon footprint.

Immediately following MoCA6, the Minister will attend the United Nations' Stockholm+50 meeting, where he will showcase Canada's leadership on ambitious climate and environmental action, stress the need to maintain global momentum on environmental obligations, as well as enhance ambition globally and reiterate the importance of multilateral cooperation. The Minister will also participate in several leadership dialogues with the global environmental community.

Quotes

"Hosting this meeting in Sweden was a big opportunity for Canada to help raise the level of ambition on climate action and nature protection by other countries, and build the momentum from Glasgow to Egypt. To achieve the goals agreed to in the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Climate Pact, we need to bring all countries on board, from major nations like India and China to developing countries that need assistance to fight and adapt to climate change. Once again, the ambitious policies launched by our government, including the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan and our progress on 30 by 30 nature protection, give us a credible voice at the table. We've come a long way, but there is so much more to do—our planet needs us working together." 
– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Quick facts

• Ministers and climate leaders from over 30 countries participated in MoCA6, including Antigua and Barbuda (Chair of AOSIS), Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile (Chair of Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean [AILAC]), China, Costa Rica, Egypt (COP27 Presidency), Ethiopia, European Union, France (EU Presidency), Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Marshall Islands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United Kingdom, United States, Zambia (Chair of the African Group of Negotiators [AGN]), UNFCCC, UN Secretary General, and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) Chair. They gathered to drive progress on the goals set out in the Paris Agreement and the Glasgow Climate Pact.
• Canada hosted the first co-convened Canada, China, and European Union Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action (MoCA) in Montreal in 2017. The goal then, and now, is to bring major economies and key climate actors together to discuss concrete action to help advance implementation of the Paris Agreement and demonstrate continued commitment to global climate action.
• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has determined that the global temperature will stabilize when carbon dioxide emissions reach net zero and that keeping this temperature rise within 1.5°C requires achieving net-zero carbon dioxide emissions globally in the early 2050s. Its latest report highlights that the window of opportunity is rapidly closing to keep a limit of 1.5°C temperature rise within reach and secure a livable and sustainable future for all.
• In October 2021, Canada and Germany released, with other developed countries, a Climate Finance Delivery Plan that provides a transparent picture of when and how developed countries will reach the USD$100 billion climate finance goal. The Plan demonstrates that donors remain committed to achieving the goal.
• Canada is one of at least 120 countries that have committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and has gone further by defining how this country will ensure it is achieved: by enshrining accountability and transparency into law.
• Canada's new 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan outlines our next steps to deliver clean air, good middle class jobs, and $9.1 billion in new investments to cut pollution and grow the economy.
• Canada continues to support efforts by developing countries to phase out coal. At last year's COP26, the Prime Minister announced that Canada will provide up to $1 billion to the Climate Investment Funds Accelerated Coal Transition Program.

Associated links

• 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan: Clean Air, Strong Economy
• Canada's International Climate Finance 
• Climate Finance Delivery Plan
• Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
• Paris Agreement
• Glasgow Climate Pact

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SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada