Minister McKenna wraps up GLOBE Forum showcasing Canadian clean innovation
VANCOUVER, March 16, 2018 /CNW/ - Clean solutions are important to protect our environment and strengthen our economy. Home to a highly skilled workforce and some of the world's top researchers, Canada is leading the way in the global transition to a clean growth economy. Innovations from Canadian companies are reducing carbon pollution, building innovative clean technologies, and creating well-paying jobs across the country and new solutions to one of the world's greatest problems: climate change.
Today, Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, wrapped up her participation in the GLOBE Forum 2018, with the Minister of Natural Resources, Jim Carr.
At GLOBE, Minister McKenna met with Canadian and international business leaders to advance opportunities for Canadian clean tech companies and discussed sustainable solutions. The GLOBE Forum's overarching theme "Disrupting Business as Usual" and subtheme "Ocean Health" align well with the Government of Canada's commitment to engaging with Canadian and international climate change stakeholders.
While in Vancouver, Minister McKenna delivered a keynote speech and presented the 2018 GLOBE Climate Leadership Awards to four Canadian organizations taking exceptional climate action. The winners of the inaugural awards were:
- S2E Technologies in the Small/Medium Business Innovator Category;
- Bentall Kennedy in the Large Business Innovator Category;
- Town of Bridgewater, Nova Scotia in the Small Municipality Trailblazer; and
- City of Guelph, Ontario in the Large Municipality Trailblazer.
Minister McKenna also kicked off the Low Carbon Economy Challenge, which will leverage Canadian ingenuity to reduce carbon pollution and generate clean growth. The over $500 million fund is open to provinces and territories, municipalities, Indigenous communities and organizations, businesses and not-for-profit organizations. Projects receiving funding will be selected based on their ability to reduce carbon pollution and contribute to clean growth, energy savings and job creation in a variety of sectors, such as forestry, transportation and buildings.
While in Vancouver, the Minister also visited the Vancouver Aquarium and was a guest speaker at the Vancouver Board of Trade where she talked about the historic investment of more than $1.3 billion to protect Canada's nature, parks, and wildlife. She also talked about the recently tabled legislation to establish better rules for major projects, to protect our environment and build a stronger economy.
She talked about the economic benefits of the Kinder Morgan Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, but also the measures taken to ensure concerns raised by Canadians about the twinned pipeline were being addressed in thoughtful and substantive ways.
She also talked about the Oceans Protection Plan, Canada's national plan to deliver a world-leading marine safety system for the country's unique context, which will engage communities, first responders, and governing authorities to work together effectively to prevent and respond to emergencies.
Along with Minister Carr, Minister McKenna launched the first G7 Clean Business Innovation Summit. The Summit is a key element of business engagement under the G7 engagement activities. Participants discussed innovative opportunities and mechanisms to direct investments towards climate solutions that will support the transition to a global clean growth economy. Suggestions received at the Summit will help to inform discussions on working together on climate change, oceans and clean energy at the upcoming G7 Leaders' Summit and the G7 Environment and Energy Ministers' Meeting.
Canadian companies are showing how climate action can spur the clean growth economy. Companies like CarbonCure who produces carbon-sequestering equipment for precast concrete production. This year, 13 Canadian companies were ranked on the Global Cleantech 100 list. The recent Global Cleantech Innovation Index ranked Canada 4th globally as a clean-technology innovator – up from 7th place in 2014.
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"The GLOBE Forum always showcases so many exciting examples of Canadian companies on the cutting edge of low-carbon innovation and clean growth. The environment and the economy go together. Canadian companies are tackling climate change, creating jobs, and developing innovative solutions that support clean growth here at home, and offer technology and expertise we can export abroad."
– Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada
For further information: Caroline Thériault, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 613-462-5473, [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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