OTTAWA, October 4, 2005 – On October 6-7, 2005,
the Governments of the Netherlands and Canada will convene a multi-stakeholder
conference on “Innovation in Combating Climate Change”. The
conference will be held at the Lester B. Pearson Building in Ottawa.
The timing of the Dutch Canadian Conference on Climate Change presents
a very important opportunity to transmit concrete implementation experiences
at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Montreal from November
28 – December 9, 2005.
Both the Dutch and Canadian Governments recognize that great strides
have been made to address climate change to date. However, there is a
need to build and improve on what we have accomplished nationally and
internationally. The Dutch Canadian Conference on Climate Change will
provide an opportunity for both governments to engage in an open discussion
with NGOs and private sector representatives on the shared implementation
challenges, as well as the possible new approaches that could be developed
in the period leading up to and beyond 2012.
All of the sessions of the Dutch Canadian Conference on Climate Change
will be carried out in plenary format. Keynote addresses will be given
by high-level government, private sector and NGO representatives from
both the Netherlands and Canada, including Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister
Pierre Pettigrew, Dutch State Secretary for the Environment Pieter van
Geel, Manitoba Energy Minister David Chomiak, former Dutch Environment
Minister Hans Alders, Sheila Watt-Cloutier, President of the Inuit Circumpolar
Conference and Clive Mather, CEO of Shell Canada. Canadian Environment
Minister Stéphane Dion will give the dinner address at the conference
dinner on October 6. The Conference Co-Chairs are Canada’s Climate
Change Ambassador Jacques Bilodeau and Netherlands Ambassador to Canada
Como van Hellenberg Hubar.
The substantive work will be carried out in the three thematic panel
sessions, which will be moderated by former Environment Minister
David Anderson. The panel sessions will bring together Dutch and Canadian
experts from government, the private sector and civil society to
address
the specific challenges related to national responses, the development
of market-based mechanisms and the promotion of climate-friendly
technology innovation. Key Canadian panel speakers include: Elisabeth
May (Sierra
Club Canada), Jim Fulton (David Suzuki Foundation), Daniel
Gagnier (Alcan), Alex Manson (Environment Canada), Sushma Gera (Foreign Affairs
Canada), Graham Campbell (Natural Resources Canada) and Vicky Sharpe
(Sustainable Development Technology Canada).
For more information on how to participate, visit the DC4 Conference
link on the Royal Netherlands Embassy’s Website at http://www.mfa.nl/ott/dutch-canadian or contact:
Ms. Johannah Bernstein
DC4 Conference Coordinator
ohannahberns24@hotmail.com
Telephone: (613) 237-5030 (extension 229)
