The increase in extreme weather events such as forest fires calls for more ambition on the international scene in the fight against climate change, believes Ottawa.
The Minister of the Environment, Steven Guilbeault, expressed this observation on Friday after a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, with around thirty of his vis-à-vis from around the world.
He insisted that the effects of climate change know “no borders”.
“What is true for Canada is true for all the countries of the planet,” he said in a press briefing.
He called on his counterparts to increase contributions to the Green Climate Fund aimed at helping developing countries in the fight against climate change. Mr. Guilbeault announced Wednesday that Canada will provide $450 million, an envelope that is part of the $5.3 billion over five years promised by Ottawa in 2021 in international environmental funding.
The meeting that ended Friday in Brussels was preparatory to COP28, the United Nations conference on climate change in 2023.
Mr. Guilbeault said he was challenged by almost everyone about the record season of forest fires in Canada.
“I think the fact that we’ve seen the air quality deteriorate not only in eastern Canada, but also in the northeast of the continental United States all the way to New York – the smoke has traveled so far in Europe – illustrates very well that […] climate change is happening even faster and more severely than we thought just a few years ago,” the Minister maintained.
He said he attended a ceremony on Thursday to commemorate the victims of the impacts of climate change. Mr. Guilbeault mentioned that the event was organized by the European Union.
According to the Minister, Canada and its counterparts are ready to do more on the climate change front.
“I think it reinforces our collective will to do more and faster,” he concluded.
Ottawa is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. Justin Trudeau’s government also promises to reduce Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions by 40% to 45% by 2030.
COP28 is due to take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, at the end of November.