Minister Guilbeault to attend the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) Annual General Meeting

GATINEAU, QC, Aug. 25, 2023 /CNW/ - Global environmental challenges call for global solutions, as the world is facing the triple crisis of climate change, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Canada is working with others around the world?including major emitters?to take ambitious and urgent action to address these problems, which know no geopolitical boundaries.

Addressing global environmental challenges requires China's engagement. The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, will therefore attend the Annual General Meeting of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) from August 28?30, in order to drive ambition and progress on a number of environmental issues.

For more than 30 years, Canada has joined multiple countries, United Nations' agencies, and environmental non-government organizations in engaging with the CCICED to advance progress on a range of environmental files, including preventing pollution, protecting biodiversity, and combatting climate change. A range of leading environmental organizations and donors will also attend the CCICED Annual General Meeting, in addition to representatives from United Nations organizations.

The CCICED Annual General Meeting will be an opportunity for Minister Guilbeault to spur action on a number of environmental issues, including the implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework, created last December when Canada was the host of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP15), which committed countries to protecting 30 percent of global land and water by 2030.

Canada's evolving approach to China is a critical part of the Indo-Pacific Strategy. There, we outlined how our approach to China is shaped by a clear-eyed assessment of today's China, and is anchored in the protection and promotion of our Canadian values and interests. We also explained that the government will challenge China when it ought to, and cooperate with China when it must. One of the key objectives of our strategy is to ensure a sustainable and green future for Canadians and all people in the Indo-Pacific region. In this case, because of its sheer size and influence, cooperation with China is necessary to address the world's existential pressures, such as climate change and biodiversity loss.

"Canadians are facing the dire realities of climate change, from devastating wildfires, to floods, storms, heatwaves, and droughts. Climate change and environmental issues know no borders. We cannot tackle these existential threats without engaging with a wide range of stakeholders and partners."
? The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

• Minister Guilbeault is the first Canadian Minister to visit China since 2019.
• Former Canadian Ministers Peter Kent (2014) and Catherine McKenna (2016) have attended past CCICED Annual General Meetings.
• The CCICED is a high-level, international advisory body established in 1992 that helps strengthen cooperation between China and the international community on environment and sustainable development policies.
• A range of international representatives serve in various capacities on the CCICED, including Vice Chairpersons from the United Nations Development Program, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the Centre for International Climate Research. CCICED members come from a number of countries, including Canada, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and South Africa.
• Since travel resumed following the lifting of COVID-19 travel restrictions, ministerial-level representatives from the United States, France, Germany, and other European Union countries, and the European Commission, have travelled to China.
• Minister Guilbeault has strengthened relations with many international partners, including leading Canada's delegation at COP26 in Glasgow and COP27 in Sharm El-Sheik, where, with Canada's leadership, countries agreed to substantial new climate commitments. Minister Guilbeault co-led, along with Jennifer Morgan, German State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action, the delivery plan to make good on countries' commitments for $100 billion in climate financing to assist developing countries mitigate and adapt to climate change.

• Canada-China Agreement on China Council on Environment and Development
  
  
• United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity's 15th Conference of the Parties
  
  
• Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy

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SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada