Canada co-chairs Climate and Clean Air Coalition to address climate change and improve air quality

by aanationtalk on November 14, 2017422 Views

From Environment and Climate Change Canada

November 14, 2017 – Bonn, Germany

The Government of Canada is committed to working at home and abroad to reduce short-lived climate pollutants that are warming the planet and harming the health of millions of people.

Today, at the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Catherine McKenna, and Chile’s Minister of the Environment, Marcelo Mena Carrasco, led the Climate and Clean Air Coalition’s annual High Level Assembly. This meeting brought together ministers and senior representatives from government and non-government partners that share the common goal of reducing short-lived climate pollutants.

Short-lived climate pollutants include black carbon, methane, ground-level ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons. They come from sources including transportation, wood-burning appliances, fossil fuels (such as oil, gas, and coal), agriculture, landfills, and diesel generators commonly used in Canada’s North.

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition is committed to reducing short-lived climate pollutants that not only contribute to climate change but also impact the air quality and health of millions of people around the world. Reductions of short-lived climate pollutants are considered key for reaching the goals in the Paris Agreement and helping to meet sustainable-development goals.

During today’s meeting, Minister McKenna highlighted Canada’s recent ratification of the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol to phase down the use of climate-warming hydrofluorocarbons, used in refrigeration and air conditioning, while calling for more countries to do the same before next week’s Meeting of the Parties, in Montréal, Canada.

Canada is also helping other countries reduce their emissions. Minister McKenna announced an investment of more than $2 million over three years to support climate action by Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. This funding will help to develop regulations and industry standards that will reduce methane emissions from landfills. This is one example of how Canada is helping developing countries achieve their climate change goals and ‎reduce air pollution for a cleaner environment.

Canada hopes to build on discussions from today’s meeting at next year’s Global Methane Forum. In April 2018, Canada, along with the Climate and Clean Air Coalition and the Global Methane Initiative, will host governments and private-sector experts and innovators that are committed to reducing methane emissions from all sectors of the economy, including agriculture, oil and gas, and municipal solid waste.

Quotes

“The continued leadership of this coalition is one of the ways Canada is working with other countries to take action against climate change and improve air quality and health in Canada and around the world. In the months ahead, Canada expects to publish updated coal-fired electricity regulations, proposed natural-gas electricity regulations, and the Clean Fuel Standard framework. Canadians should be proud of the recent state of the air report that shows Canada was able to reduce its air emissions while growing the economy.”

– Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Canada

“I commend the open bilateral cooperation between Canada and Senegal. Through this project, we can begin implementing our nationally determined contribution to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions in the solid-waste management sector. We are committed to working together to make this project a success.”

– Yaya Abdoul Kane, Minister of Territorial Governance and Development, Senegal

“Côte d’Ivoire welcomes with great pleasure Canada’s project to support the implementation of our nationally determined contribution. This project is in keeping with the Ministry of Urban Sanitation, Environment, and Sustainable Development’s vision for effective environmental governance, established through strong policies and concrete environmental protection and low-carbon development actions that are resilient to a changing climate.”

– Anne Désirée Ouloto, Minister of Urban Sanitation, Environment, and Sustainable Development, Côte d’Ivoire

Quick Facts

The Climate and Clean Air Coalition is a voluntary partnership of over 100 governments, businesses, scientific institutions, and other organizations committed to improving air quality and protecting the climate through actions that reduce short-lived climate pollutants.
Reducing short-lived climate pollutants leads to improved human health, including fewer asthma symptoms, a reduced risk of premature death, and fewer heart-related issues.
Canada is currently co-chairing the Global Methane Initiative and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition. The Government of Canada is also the top contributor to the Climate and Clean Air Coalition Trust Fund, with a total pledge of $23 million.
Canada is committed to providing $2.65 billion by 2020 to support developing countries implement the Paris Agreement and transition to low-carbon economies.

Canada co-chairs Climate and Clean Air Coalition to address climate change and improve air quality

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