For Quebec and all of Canada, the science and economic analysis are clear: getting to net-zero emissions in the next 30 years is essential to avert the worst impacts of climate change and presents the earliest movers the greatest chance to benefit from the opportunities driving a clean economy.
Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, outlined the Government of Canada's support for a net-zero emissions economy in Quebec while speaking at Americana 2023, one of the largest environmental events in North America. The Minister delivered a speech entitled, "Répondre à l'urgence climatique, c'est bâtir l'économie de demain", that outlined the increasing role businesses are playing to achieve net-zero emissions. The Government of Canada is helping foster economic environmentalism through a range of policies, including the launch of the independent Net-Zero Advisory Body, to provide advice on the most likely pathways for Canada to reach net zero.
The Minister noted newly announced funding to support five new Quebec-based research projects selected by the Net-Zero Advisory Body to inform the Advisory Body's efforts. With investments totalling just over $3 million in the province of Quebec from the Climate Action and Awareness Fund, researchers from Polytechnique Montréal, Electric Mobility Canada, Québec Net Positif, and the Institut du Québec will undertake studies that vary from evaluating the risks and opportunities linked to strategic metal extraction and biomass, to finding how best to help small- and medium-sized enterprises understand their role in a net-zero Canada.
These projects are part of 16 new initiatives across the country totaling close to $10 million that are being funded to support the Net-Zero Advisory Body's goals, and to identify, accelerate, and evaluate mitigation actions that can help Canada achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Protecting the environment and growing the economy are not mutually exclusive. In fact, environmental action on climate change has become the driving force for economic opportunity in the 21st century. By investing in clean technology and gathering insight on how to reach net zero, the Government of Canada is moving in the right direction to the ultimate destination of a clean and prosperous Canada.
