Minister Guilbeault leads the Canadian delegation to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) to push for ambitious climate action

From: Environment and Climate Change Canada

News release

November 27, 2023 – Gatineau, Quebec

Canada is successfully bending the curve on the emissions that fuel climate change through a comprehensive, economy-wide set of solutions that include pollution pricing, historic investments in clean industry, clean electricity, less polluting transportation, cutting methane emissions, and reducing plastic waste, all bolstered by better nature protections and the first National Adaptation Strategy for dealing with the impacts of extreme weather. COP28 represents a unique opportunity for the international community to come together to focus on solutions, and Canada brings a lot to the table.

The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, is leading the Canadian delegation to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 30 to December 12, 2023. At COP28, Canada will work with partners to accelerate global efforts to keep the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to 1.5 ºC within reach and avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

Throughout the conference, Canada will engage in negotiations, bilateral meetings, and dialogues on tackling climate change and adapting to its impacts on people and ecosystems, including fast-tracking the switch to clean energy. Canada will work constructively to respond to loss and damage and the implementation of the global goal on adaptation. Canada will also continue its leadership toward meeting the collective US$100 billion international climate finance goal, calling on contributors to deliver on their respective pledges. We will work with partners on a new climate finance goal for 2025 and beyond and identify ways to better leverage private capital for climate solutions. Through the first global stocktake, Canada, in coordination with partners, will work to identify concrete steps all countries can take to better align global climate action with the long-term goals of the Paris Agreement.

Canada has a dual role at COP28 in addition to its usual constructive engagement. At the request of the COP28 President, Minister Guilbeault has been partnering with Minister Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment of Egypt, to co-facilitate discussions on means of implementation—the resources, policies, and actions that countries and stakeholders must undertake to achieve the goals set out in the Paris Agreement. This includes financial support, technology transfer, and capacity-building that enables countries to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance their climate resilience. The global stocktake assesses whether these means of implementation are sufficient and effective in driving progress to limit global warming.

While at COP28, Minister Guilbeault is expected to take part in several events, including:

  • As co-chair of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, he will join countries in a call to action on coal phase out.
  • The Global Methane Pledge Ministerial Meeting to highlight international efforts on reducing methane emissions and showcase Canadian domestic actions.
  • A ministerial session with the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People to showcase efforts to conserve, protect, and restore at least 30 percent of land and 30 percent of oceans by 2030.
  • Recognize new countries which have signed onto Canada’s Global Carbon Pricing Challenge, which has a goal to triple the coverage of carbon pricing mechanisms around the world to reach 60 percent of global emissions by 2030.

Canada will have a national Pavilion at the conference that will showcase a whole-of-Canada approach to climate action and leadership on the world stage. The Pavilion will serve as a hub for networking, stakeholder engagement, and events hosted by representatives of provinces and territories, Indigenous peoples, women, youth, and civil society.

Led by Minister Guilbeault, Canada’s delegation includes Catherine Stewart, Ambassador for Climate Change; Michael Bonser, Canada’s Chief Climate Negotiator; and Jean-François Tremblay, Deputy Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Canada recognizes the importance of coordination across all levels of government and the need to ensure an inclusive delegation that considers diverse perspectives. The COP28 delegation will also include parliamentarians, national Indigenous representatives, civil society organizations and youth, business, labour, as well as most provinces and territories.

As the world witnesses a rapidly changing climate, this decade of action is more critical than ever. Canada is encouraged by the positive and ambitious vision that the COP28 Presidency has laid out and will work together with international partners to achieve ambitious outcomes in Dubai.

Quotes

“Every COP represents a unique opportunity for humanity to further our climate fight. COP28 is the next significant milestone in our collective efforts to advance human security, economic prosperity, and the health and well-being of our planet. As the world comes together in Dubai to assess our progress thus far, we recognize that there are still challenges ahead. We can take heart in the steady progress we are making each year and the knowledge that we have the solutions, if only we can maintain the will and conviction to pursue them with the required speed and commitment. Together, we will carve a brighter future for our planet and future generations.”
– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

Quick facts

  • COP28 is the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an annual conference that coordinates international efforts to address climate change.

  • COP28 is expected to deliver several important outcomes, including a landmark decision under the first global stocktake. The global stocktake is a multilateral process that takes place every five years to assess progress made in implementing the Paris Agreement and define what countries and other actors will do over the next three to five years to increase climate ambition globally, in line with the Agreement’s long-term goals.

  • Canada has shown leadership in international climate finance by providing funding to developing countries under its $5.3 billion commitments, and by co-leading with Germany on efforts to demonstrate global progress on the US$100 billion annual climate finance goal. This includes co-leading on the Climate Finance Delivery Plan in 2021, the Progress Report in 2022, and the release of a joint letter to demonstrate progress on the delivery of the US$100 billion in 2023.  

  • On November 16, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released two thematic reports: Scaling Up the Mobilisation of Private Finance for Climate Action in Developing Countries, and Scaling Up Adaptation Finance in Developing Countries, as well as data for climate finance provided and mobilized by contributors in 2021. The reports showed that Canada and other contributors collectively provided and mobilized US$89.6 billion in climate finance in 2021. This represents a significant increase, relative to the US$83.3 billion in climate finance delivered in 2020, and an improvement on the trajectory to meeting the goal in 2023, initially outlined in the Climate Finance Delivery Plan.

  • Prior to the conference, the Minister convened countries from around the world to issue an open letter to the UAE COP28 President Designate to call for increased action on phasing out coal globally.

  • Since COP27 in 2022, Canada has made significant advances in domestic climate action:

    • Co-hosting the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity under the Chinese Presidency in Montréal, in December 2022.
    • Strengthening carbon pollution pricing nationwide while returning all proceeds to Canadians, ensuring that most families get back more than they pay.
    • Eliminating inefficient fossil fuel subsidies by the end of 2023, making Canada the first G20 country to release a rigorous analytical guide that both fulfills its commitment and transparently supports action.
    • Building a clean electricity grid by 2035 through significant investment and proposed new regulations.
    • Building a world-leading Canadian electric vehicle supply chain and ensuring that all new light-duty vehicles sold in Canada by 2035 are zero emission.
    • Raising its ambition on methane, with Canada on track to reduce domestic methane emissions by more than 35 percent by 2030, compared to 2020 levels, including a target to reduce methane from its oil and gas sector by at least 75 percent by 2030.
    • Pledging $450 million for the second replenishment of the Green Climate Fund and announcing $350 million for the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund.

  • More information about the Canada Pavilion can be found online.

Associated links

Contacts

Kaitlin Power
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
819-230-1557
Kaitlin.Power@ec.gc.ca

Media Relations
Environment and Climate Change Canada
819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free)
media@ec.gc.ca

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