Canada continues to be a world leader in environmental issues
And in August it will host one of the largest environmental forums.
The world today is experiencing a simultaneous climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and pollution. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has been in existence since 1991 to address these problems. On World Environment Day, Canadian Minister of International Development Harjit Singh Sajjan announced that the country will host the seventh assembly of the Facility, to be held from August 22 to 26, 2023. Despite problems with forest fires, Canada has been a leader for decades in promoting environmental initiatives both at home and around the world, continuing to join forces with international partners to find solutions to make the planet healthier.
In December 2022, Montreal, Quebec, hosted the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15). The conference produced important progress for the protection of nature, as well as an agreement to fund initiatives related to the preservation of the planet's biodiversity. In the summer of 2023, Canada will continue to be a leader in addressing the world's environmental challenges, and Vancouver will be the home of the GEF Assembly.
The Global Environment Facility Assembly, which takes place every four years, is the global body that coordinates funding for international efforts to address climate change, loss of the planet's biodiversity, pollution, and degradation of land and oceans. Representatives from 185 countries will attend the Seventh Assembly. They will include environmental leaders, representatives of academia, business, and international organizations, members of civil society, and even ministers of state.
The upcoming meeting comes at a time of serious diplomatic momentum on environmental issues, which has been set by the agreements reached at the mentioned COP15 last December and the UN Water Conference in March 2023 in New York.
The most anticipated outcome of the assembly is the creation of the new Global Biodiversity Framework Fund. This is a critical source of funding for programs to protect endangered species and ecosystems. Its creation will open up new opportunities for the private sector as well as philanthropic support for nature. At COP15, the GEF was selected as the governing body of the Global Biodiversity Framework Fund.
Canada is one of the founding countries of the GEF. For the country, it is the main instrument of support for developing countries as they address climate change. At COP15, Canada announced that between 2022 and 2026 it will allocate CAD 219 million to the eighth GEF mandate to help developing countries address global environmental issues and implement international environmental conventions. CAD 350 million has been allocated to help developing countries conserve biodiversity and implement the Global Biodiversity Framework.
It is also worth noting that in June 2021, Canada doubled its financial support to developing countries, which aims to help these countries promote green industries and environmental initiatives. From 2021 to 2026, the amount of such aid will be CAD 5.3 billion. Canada does not forget about its own ecology. For example, in the fall of 2022, the Canadian government invested CAD 1.4 million in green agricultural technology and plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030.
