Whitehorse, Yukon - Natural Resources Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada
The Government of Canada is committed to working in collaboration with Indigenous and northern partners to tackle climate change, accelerate the transition to clean energy and create impactful and local economic opportunities in the North and Arctic.
From January 15 to 21, eleven energy champions will meet in Whitehorse, Yukon, to acquire new skills, build collaboration networks, visit projects in Old Crow and Teslin, and share expertise on the integration of renewable energy resources for remote Arctic communities. Their goal is to gain the knowledge, tools and networks needed to develop their own clean energy projects in their communities to ensure a greener, cleaner and more prosperous region.
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Natural Resources, and the Honourable Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, PrairiesCan, CanNor and Polar Knowledge Canada, today congratulated Gwich'in Council International and Polar Knowledge Canada on the successful delivery and planning of ARENA II to date.
This is the second cohort of the Arctic Remote Energy Networks Academy (ARENA), a unique circumpolar knowledge-sharing program combining community site visits with participant knowledge exchanges, presentations, demonstrations and mentorship. The objective of the program is to connect emerging energy champions and provide skills, knowledge and networks to develop clean energy projects in their own communities or regions. Additionally, the program aims to improve community energy resilience, enable sustainability in Arctic energy development and achieve balance between economic viability, energy security and environmental and public health concerns in the circumpolar Arctic region.
Building on the success of the initial program, and after delays due to COVID-19, the second cohort began the ARENA II program in 2022. Sessions were held in Fairbanks and Kotzebue, Alaska, in July, and in Reykjavík, Iceland, in October. They will reconvene in Whitehorse this weekend for the final sessions of the program.
Indigenous and Arctic leadership in the clean energy sector and in remote northern communities through ARENA has been successful in part to a combined contribution of over $281,000 from the Government of Canada for the design and delivery of ARENA II.
This investment demonstrates the Government of Canada's commitment to meaningful participation, ownership and decision-making by Indigenous Peoples in natural resource development as they expand innovative clean energy solutions to displace fossil fuels, advance self-determination and combat climate change.
